Milk - General

How BoviSync and Integrated Tech are Creating a 'Digital Nervous System' for Modern Dairies

Thu, 14 May 2026 13:04:38 GMT

Across the American landscape, a silent revolution is rewiring the 250-year legacy of the dairy farm, transforming traditional barns and pastures into a high-precision digital nervous system. For operations like Abel Dairy in Wisconsin and Lincoln Dairy in New York, the manual grit of the past has met the cloud-based logic of the future, ensuring data flows as freely as milk and every decision is backed by real-time intelligence.

As the United States approaches its 250^th anniversary, the story of dairy is shifting from one of just getting by to one of mastering the margin. At the heart of this evolution is the death of the data silo and the birth of integrated, cloud-based management.

Steve, Allen and Nate Abel

(BoviSync)

The Wisconsin Blueprint: Wiring for Growth

For Steve Abel, a sixth-generation farmer at Abel Dairy, maintaining a legacy isn’t about looking backward — it’s about wiring the farm for a future his son Nate will one day lead. Three years ago, the Abels made a high-stakes move, expanding from a 2,000-cow operation to a 4,500-cow powerhouse. This wasn’t just about adding stalls or pouring concrete; it was a structural pivot toward precision.

At the center of the Abel expansion is an 80-cow GEA rotary parlor, but the true engine of the farm is BoviSync. By adopting this cloud-based central hub, the Abels eliminated the lag that has plagued dairy management for decades.

(BoviSync)

“We moved away from traditional data silos,” Abel explains. “For years, dairies struggled with double entry — the tedious process of recording data in one system only to manually type it into another. At Abel Dairy, that era is over.

“BoviSync networks with our sort gates, our feed software and even our hoof-trimming chute,” he says.

This connectivity transforms manual chores into automated workflows. The Abels no longer rely on traditional veterinarian pregnancy checks that require manual recording. Instead, they use blood samples and scanners. The results are uploaded to the cloud and downloaded directly into BoviSync. Because the software is linked to the farm’s sort gates, the cows are automatically identified and directed to the appropriate pens without a human ever having to check a clipboard.

Abel Dairy

(BoviSync)

The New York Perspective: Multi-Site Mastery

Thirteen hundred miles to the east, Bryant Stuttle, the herd manager for Lincoln Dairy in Auburn, N.Y., is navigating a similar digital frontier. Stuttle, a fourth-generation dairy professional, manages a complex multi-site operation for owners Dan and Nate Osborne. The system includes the home farm, Lincoln Dairy, and two satellite facilities, Ridgecrest and Gemini.

For Lincoln Dairy, the move to BoviSync two years ago was driven by a singular, ambitious goal: going 100% paperless.

“We operate as one herd across multiple farms,” Stuttle says. “The challenge with traditional software was how it handled multi-site data. We needed a system where events were tied to the facility, not just the cow. If a cow gets bred at one site and moved to another, we need to know exactly where that event happened to track technician performance and facility success. BoviSync made that seamless.”

Before the switch, the morning routine was often a source of frustration.

“I can’t tell you how many times we’d walk in on a busy herd-check day and the server hadn’t refreshed or a command line error meant the lists weren’t right,” Stuttle recalls. “You’d lose two hours of your day circling back to restart. Now, the guys grab their phones and go. There’s a level of confidence that the day is set up for success before we even start.”

The Human Element Removed from the Environment

(BoviSync)

The digital evolution isn’t limited to cow records; it has extended into the very air the animals breathe. In Wisconsin, the Abels installed the Agrimesh system to control ventilation and sprinklers in their tunnel-ventilated free stall barns.

“We wanted something that took the people out of the equation,” Abel says. “We don’t want an employee having to remember to open a curtain or speed up a fan because it warmed up at 10 a.m.”

The system calculates temperature, humidity and negative pressure in real time, adjusting tunnel fans and curtains automatically. It is a level of environmental consistency that ensures the cows remain cool in the summer and the barns don’t freeze in the winter, all without human intervention.

Similarly, at Lincoln Dairy, technology like SenseHub (formaly known as SCR collars) provides a constant heartbeat for the herd. These collars monitor rumination and activity across all three sites, feeding data back into the central hub. When combined with SenseHub sort gates, the system allows Stuttle’s team to identify and treat sick cows before they even show physical symptoms.

“Our reproduction is phenomenal — the highest it’s ever been,” Stuttle says. “Our cull and death rates are the lowest they’ve ever been. When you perform at that level, it all spells profit for the bottom line.”

The Power of Compliance and ROI

For both operations, the return on investment for these technologies isn’t just found in labor savings — it’s found in compliance.

“If you’re going to sell me a technology, it needs to make my employees more consistent,” Abel asserts. This focus on compliance ensures every vaccine is given correctly and every hoof is trimmed on schedule. At Abel Dairy, even the hoof-trimming chute is wired. A tablet mounted to the chute allows for instant data entry, eliminating the data lag of paper records.

At Lincoln Dairy, the technology allowed the farm to reposition two full-time labor units to other areas of the farm that needed more attention.

“It’s not just about doing the job with fewer people; it’s about doing the job better,” Stuttle explains. “The guys love it. I joke with them about going back to clipboards, and they just look at me and say, ‘Please, no.’”

The Heifer Pipeline

The digital nervous system also extends far beyond the home acres. Both Abel Dairy and Lincoln Dairy use Kansas Dairy Development (KDD) to raise their heifers. This creates a unique data challenge: How do you track an animal that is a thousand miles away?

“With KDD still being on DairyComp and us being on BoviSync, it was a challenge,” Stuttle admits. “But the BoviSync team figured out a way to translate that data daily. Now, I have my KDD file right in my system. It’s like they’re speaking two different languages, but the software acts as the translator. I have the same access to the data as the people on the ground in Kansas.”

This level of transparency allows both farms to right-size their herds. By using sexed semen, they can precisely determine how many replacements they need and breed the rest of the herd to beef. This beef-on-dairy pivot has become a vital revenue stream, providing a hedge against milk price volatility.

Advice for the Modern Producer: Avoid the Data Drown

With so much information available, the risk of data exhaustion is real. Stuttle’s advice to other producers is to focus on what actually moves the needle.

“Data management is the biggest opportunity in the industry right now,” he says. “But you can get drowned in it. Every salesperson will tell you their metric is the one that matters. You have to figure out what matters to you and look at it consistently, month in and month out.”

At Lincoln Dairy, that means focusing on hundredweight sold, transition cow success and pregnancy rates. By centralizing this data, the management team can stop worrying about whether the technology is working and start focusing on managing the people and the cows.

(BoviSync)

Legacy Powered by Data

As these two dairies demonstrate, the center of gravity for U.S. dairy is shifting. It is moving away from the localized, fragmented models of the past toward a high-precision, integrated future.

The 250^th anniversary of American agriculture is a celebration of resilience, but for the Abels and the Osbornes, it is also a launchpad. By integrating every gadget, sensor and software into a cohesive digital nervous system, they are ensuring their farm legacies will thrive for decades to come.

In Eden, Wis., and Auburn, N.Y., the lights in the barn are still on. But today, they are powered by data, driven by compliance and managed with a level of brilliance our ancestors could only have dreamed of. The U.S. dairy farmer has evolved from a milk man into a protein integrator, and the digital revolution is just getting started.

APHIS Lifts Testing Requirements for H5N1 in Unaffected States

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 19:33:01 GMT

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued updated guidance related to the April 2024 Federal Order that required testing of lactating dairy cattle before they move across State lines.

Effective immediately, lactating dairy cattle moving interstate from States with Unaffected State Status under the National Milk Testing Strategy are no longer required to be tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 prior to movement.

View the updated guidance document .

Key Points

No testing required for lactating dairy cattle originating from States with Unaffected State Status under the National Milk Testing Strategy .
Unaffected State Status requires ongoing testing and surveillance activities to confirm the absence of HPAI in the State’s dairy herds.
This update follows a United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) resolution received in October 2025 and is expected to be widely supported by dairy and State animal health regulatory officials.
APHIS does not anticipate any impact on trade of cattle or beef/dairy products.

Public Health and Food Safety

The detection of HPAI H5N1 in lactating dairy cattle does not pose a risk to consumer health or compromise the safety of the commercial milk supply. Pasteurization effectively inactivates HPAI virus. Milk from affected animals is diverted or destroyed to prevent entry into the food supply. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to consider the public health risk low.

The Importance of Biosecurity

USDA remains committed to working with State partners to monitor, investigate, and mitigate the spread of HPAI in livestock. This update does not change  USDA’s HPAI eradication strategy . Biosecurity is still key to mitigating the risk of disease introduction or spread between premises.

APHIS recommends  enhanced biosecurity measures  for all dairy farms. Producers should immediately report any livestock with clinical signs, or any unusual sick or dead wildlife, to their State veterinarian.

The Invisible Enemy: The Audacity and Faith of One Incredible Wisconsin Dairy Family

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:58:02 GMT

In the world of dairy farming, we often talk about the things we can see: the quality of the silage, the conformation of a heifer or the rising numbers on a milk check. But for the Den Hoed family in northern Wisconsin, the most defining battle of the last 17 years has been against an enemy that is entirely invisible. It is a story of a silent killer that nearly broke their business, but instead, forged a family legacy of unshakable faith and the grit to build something entirely new from the ground up.

The story of Den Hoed Dairy doesn’t begin in the cabin country of Wisconsin. It begins in the Yakima Valley of Washington, where Walt Den Hoed grew up milking cows alongside his father and brothers. By 2008, the operation had grown to 1,200 cows. But that year, a storm hit: Walt’s father passed away from cancer, and the family realized — too late — that no succession planning had been done.

In 2010, at age 40, Walt faced a crossroads. He could stay in the shadow of a fractured legacy, or he could take a leap of faith. With his wife, Denise, and their children, he looked at seven dairies across the Midwest. They eventually settled on a site in northern Wisconsin, arriving with nothing more than two tractors, a loader and a determination to start over.

“We didn’t bring any cows,” Walt recalls. “We bought everything here. We didn’t know then why the former owner had sold the farm. We found out soon enough.”

(Den Hoed Dairy)

The Silent Killer: 17 Years of Stray Voltage

What the Den Hoeds had unknowingly purchased was a stray voltage farm. Located precisely between two electrical substations, the earth beneath their feet was a conduit for balancing energy. For the cows, it was a living nightmare.

“It affects their liver,” Walt explains, his voice heavy with the memory of the struggle. “The cows wouldn’t drink.”

At their lowest point, the cows were only taking in 13 gallons of water a day.

“We were down to 44 pounds of milk on 3x milking,” says Colton Den Hoed. “They wouldn’t even let their milk down in the parlor; they’d get back to the stalls and just start dripping. It was like they were being suppressed from the inside out.”

The numbers were staggering and, for any other business, it would have been a death sentence. The farm carried a 44% cull rate and a 10% death rate. In the winter, production hovered at 60 lb.; in the summer, 75 lb. Compared to the 90 lb.-plus averages they had achieved in Washington, the Den Hoeds were merely surviving in a state of constant “IV tube” management.

“We were in the shed at 3 a.m. in -25°F-below weather, building little pens to warm up calves that were dying because the stray voltage prevents calcium transfer,” Denise says. “They couldn’t keep themselves warm. We were doing whatever it took to save them, but you can’t out-farm physics.”

(Den Hoed Dairy)

The Legacy Farmer Pivot: Permission to Dream Again

For years, the family lived in a survival bubble. The Den Hoeds say when you are buried in the daily trauma of losing animals and fighting a plummeting milk check, you stop dreaming. You focus on the next bill, the next IV bag and the next sunrise.

The turning point came a year and a half ago when the family connected with Legacy Farmer. They wanted a cold, hard audit of their operation. They were prepared for the criticism. In fact, they invited it.

“We wanted to find the holes,” says Jayce Den Hoed. “We wanted to know where we were failing. But they dug into our portfolio for two months and came back with something we didn’t expect. They told us, ‘You guys can’t get any more efficient. The only thing you’re doing wrong is milk production, and you can’t help that in this facility.’”

That revelation was the green light the family needed. The audit proved their do-it-all philosophy — hauling their own milk, harvesting 1,700 acres of their own feed and handling every equipment repair in-house — had created a foundation of extreme efficiency. If they could just get the cows onto clean ground, the sky was the limit.

“We had a day of depression when we saw the reality of the numbers needed to build new,” Colton says. “But we all came back to the table with the same vision. We knew we had the equity. We just needed the courage to jump.”

Building from Scratch: 6 Miles to Freedom

The Den Hoeds are currently in the middle of a massive transformation. Just 6 miles away from their current death trap, they are building a brand-new facility from scratch. The new dairy will feature a double-20 parallel parlor and a state-of-the-art feed center.

The goal is to move the milking herd, dry cows and close-ups to the new site by November. The original farm will be repurposed for heifers and calves, who seem better able to handle the environmental stress until they reach breeding age.

“The bank approval was a miracle,” Denise says. “We spent months putting together a portfolio — projections for years to come, profit and loss statements, every detail laid out. We had a three-hour meeting with the board, and within 90 days, we had the approval. Our lender actually grew up on a farm that was also plagued by stray voltage. She understood our heart because she had lived our pain.”

(Den Hoed Dairy)

The Next Generation: Wired for the Legacy

Perhaps the most compelling part of the Den Hoed story is the two young men standing alongside Walt. In an era where the average age of the American farmer is rising, Jayce and Colton bring that figure down considerably. They are hardworking, tech-savvy and deeply committed to the family brand.

Jayce, who bought his first 100 acres at age 18, even before he graduated high school, handles the crop inputs and the beef side of the business.

“I’ve always wanted to farm,” he says. “You teach your kids responsibility, and that’s missing in our culture today.”

Colton, who cares for the youngstock, has taken the Den Hoed story to the world through social media, where he has built a following of nearly 200,000 people. He documents the good, the bad and the muddy.

“I want to show people what we do. I’ve had kids from small towns come through the barn who have never seen a cow,” Colton says. “The disconnect is huge, and we’re trying to bridge it.”

The brothers haven’t always seen eye-to-eye — they admit to butting heads in their younger years — but the shared trauma of the stray voltage years and the shared vision of the new build have welded them together.

(Den Hoed Dairy)

A Culture of “Familia”

The Den Hoeds don’t just treat each other like family; they extend that culture to their team. When they moved to Wisconsin, they struggled to find help until they recruited from the local Hispanic community. Today, they have four employees who have been with them for years.

“We treat them like family,” Colton says. “We have dinners together. We bring them donuts. We know about their lives. It’s not just a number on a payroll; it’s a relationship. That morale is why they stay, even when the facility was a struggle to work in.”

This focus on people is the secret sauce of their efficiency. By hauling their own milk, they save nearly $1.10 per cwt. — a figure that adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

“If we didn’t do it ourselves, we wouldn’t be here,” Walt says simply.

The Audacity of Faith

Woven through every conversation with the Den Hoeds is a profound sense of faith. In their barn, a sign reads “In God We Trust,” and it isn’t just for show.

“When we put that sign up, it felt like our problems got worse,” Walt says with a wry smile. “It was like Satan went to work harder. But it just made us pray harder. We stopped praying for God to ‘fix’ the farm and started praying for wisdom. And that’s when the pieces started falling into place.”

They see God’s hand in the timing of the Legacy Farmer audit, in the specific background of their lender and even in the naysayers who told them they would fail.

“You’re always going to have people who think you’re nuts,” Walt says. “But we’ve learned to manifest the positive. You don’t go forward unless you poke your head out of the shell. We’re taking a leap of faith because we believe this industry is worth it, and we believe our family is worth it.”

Looking Toward November

As the construction crews move dirt at the new site 6 miles away, the Den Hoeds are already seeing the cumulative wins. Their pregnancy rate has surged from 23% to nearly 50% after a shift in management protocols. Their days in milk have dropped from 215 to 160. Though these changes did not translate to a single extra pound at their current facility, the engine is being tuned for the big move.

“We need hope,” Denise says. “We were in that survival pool for so long we didn’t realize how depressed we were. We had actually stopped dreaming.”

But the dreams are back. In November, when the first trailer load of cows pulls into the clean parlor of the new facility, it won’t just be a move of livestock. It will be the culmination of 17 years of perseverance. It will be the moment the invisible enemy finally loses its grip.

As the rain falls over the Wisconsin cabin country, the Den Hoed family gathers for their daily lunch — a tradition that keeps them connected and grounded. They joke, they plan and they pray. They are a testament to the fact that the most valuable asset on any dairy isn’t the quota or the equipment — it’s the people who refuse to quit.

The Den Hoeds are no longer just surviving. They are building a legacy that will outlast the hardships and the stray voltage. They are proving that when you combine elite efficiency with an audacious faith, the cream always rises to the top.

From the Parlor to the Perimeter: Protecting the Heart of American Dairy in 2026

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:28:22 GMT

2026 marks a defining moment for U.S. dairy producers. As biological threats evolve and new risks loom on the horizon, the industry’s focus has moved from the parlor to the perimeter. During a high-level panel at the High Plains Dairy Conference, leaders including Jason Lombard, Samantha Holeck and Dee Ellis addressed the biosecurity gap and the urgent need for a line of separation to safeguard the milk supply. This isn’t just a discussion about animal health; it’s a strategic deep dive into the risk management and business continuity required to keep the American dairy industry moving forward in a volatile world.

The Ghost in the Mammary Gland: The H5N1 Legacy

Lombard opened the discussion with a sobering retrospective on H5N1. What began as a bird flu headline in December 2021 has evolved into a complex, multi-species challenge that has fundamentally altered the dairy landscape.

Lombard’s timeline showed the relentless march of the virus. From the first detections in wild birds in the Carolinas to the jump into commercial turkeys in 2022, the industry watched with wary eyes. But 2024 was the year the ground shifted. The B3.13 genotype emerged in dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas, eventually spreading to multiple states and even jumping to alpacas and swine. By late 2025, new genotypes like D1.1 were being detected in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.

The most jarring revelation, however, was the visual evidence of where the virus hides. Lombard shared microscopic images of the mammary gland, where sialic acid receptors — the locks the virus keys into — glowed red, and the virus itself (AIV) glowed yellow.

“It’s in the milk,” Lombard stated flatly.

The spread isn’t just about a bird dropping a feather in a feed bunk. The data now shows a web of transmission: the movement of cattle, the movement of people and even the breathing of the herd. Most concerning for the 2026 outlook is the role of aerosols and peridomestic birds like swallows, pigeons and starlings. We are fighting a ghost that can be carried on a breeze or the back of a common filth fly.

The Emerging Nightmare: New World Screwworm

While the industry is still reeling from H5N1, Holeck introduced a threat that sounds like the plot of a horror movie but carries devastating economic reality: New World screwworm (NWS).

For decades, the U.S. has been protected by the “Darien Gap” and a massive eradication effort that pushed the screwworm south into Central America. But in 2026, the map is changing. Holeck shared a situational update showing thousands of active cases in Mexico, with some pushing dangerously close to the U.S. border.

“This will change the way we do business,” Holeck warned.

If NWS crosses the border, the implications are immediate and severe. We are talking about total movement restrictions, intensive live-animal inspections and the potential for lost trade. Unlike a virus, NWS is a parasite — a fly that lays eggs in open wounds, where larvae then consume living tissue. Holeck’s toolbox for 2026 isn’t just about vaccinations; it’s about management. It’s about preventing injuries, adjusting management practices to keep wounds clean, and a hyper-vigilant remove and dispose protocol for larvae.

The Reality of the Gap: Data from the Barn Floor

Farm Journal conducted its own research on research launched at the 2025 Milk Business Conference. The research illustrates a significant biosecurity gap between large and small operations.

The data showed that while 71% of producers have cameras in their milking parlors, only 38% have defined entrances with clear signage for designated vehicles like milk and feed trucks. The discrepancy becomes even sharper when looking at herd size. Larger dairies are significantly more likely to have designated employee parking (+23%) and cameras at facility entrances (+32%) compared to dairies with fewer than 1,000 cows.

The producer’s dilemma is real: ROI versus risk. On a smaller operation, a $20,000 security and sanitation upgrade can feel like a mountain, especially when the threat hasn’t hit your zip code yet. But as the panel emphasized, biosecurity is like insurance — you only realize its value when it’s too late.

One of the most telling statistics from the survey was that 25% of producers admitted they “don’t control and limit access” to feed storage areas. In an era where H5N1 and other diseases can be carried by wildlife and birds into the very food the cows eat, this is a glaring vulnerability.

The Blueprint: Drawing the Line of Separation

Ellis provided the how-to for the future: The Secure Milk Supply (SMS) Plan. This isn’t just a binder that sits on a shelf; it is a voluntary, science-based framework designed to ensure business continuity during a disease outbreak.

The core of the SMS plan is the line of separation (LOS). Ellis shared sample dairy maps that looked more like tactical military charts than farm layouts. The LOS creates a clear clean/dirty boundary.

The Dirty Side: Where public roads, non-essential deliveries and rendering trucks reside.
The Clean Side: The protected area where cows live, eat and are milked.

Implementing an SMS plan means identifying specific LOS access points, creating vehicle cleaning and disinfecting stations and establishing strict logs for every person and animal that crosses that line.

“Don’t sacrifice good for perfect,” Ellis advised. “Every SMS plan is unique. The key is to start. Post your map where every employee can see it every day. Make the clean/dirty concept part of your farm’s culture.”

The Biosecurity Umbrella

Biosecurity can feel like a cloud of acronyms and diseases: BVD, TB, Johne’s, Mycoplasma and now H5N1 and NWS.

Biosecurity isn’t easy. It’s tedious. It’s expensive. And it’s often invisible.

As an industry, we must move away from a reactive posture and toward a proactive, fortified model of production. Whether it’s a million-dollar operation in the Texas Panhandle or a 100-cow family farm in Wisconsin, the line of separation is the same.

The call to action for the industry is the same for every operation across the U.S.:

Assemble your team and review protocols now — before the challenge hits.
Look at your perimeter and sanitation, especially in feed and transport areas.
Support each other. If you serve producers, help them find the resources to make these investments.

While we may be facing genotypes and parasites that generations before us never dreamed of, we now have the science, the data and the collective will to protect the milk supply.

The 2026 revolution isn’t just about how much milk we can produce; it’s about how well we can protect it. And in that mission, we are all behind the wheel together.

The Kansas Explosion: Cow Numbers Surge as U.S. Milk Production Climbs

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:31:08 GMT

The latest USDA Milk Production report paints a picture of an industry in the midst of a significant geographic and structural shift. Led by a massive surge in the High Plains, milk production in the 24 major states reached 19.6 billion lb. in March, a 2.4% increase over the previous year.

While the production increase is notable, the real story lies in the “where” and “how.” The U.S. dairy herd is expanding at a clip rarely seen in recent years, with cow numbers in the major states climbing to 9.18 million head — an increase of 188,000 cows compared to March 2025.

The Kansas Phenomenon

If there is a gorilla in the room in this report, it is Kansas. The Sunflower State has officially become the epicenter of American dairy expansion. In March 2026, Kansas saw a staggering 25.4% increase in milk production compared to the same month last year.

This growth is driven by a massive influx of cattle. Kansas cow numbers jumped from 187,000 head in March 2025 to 234,000 head in March 2026 — a net gain of 47,000 cows in a single year. This explosion suggests the state’s aggressive strategy to attract processing capacity and foster a pro-growth business climate is paying massive dividends. Large-scale operations are not just moving to Kansas; they are thriving there, leveraging the state’s access to feed and central logistics.

“I almost always look at cow numbers first because that’s going to tell us a lot about short-to-medium-term prospects,” Phil Plourd, president of Ever.Ag Insights says. “For March, the U.S. herd increased 8,000 head month-on-month and 187,000 year-over-year to a new 30-plus year high. That says we’re going to have plenty of milk for a while. And, while performance varies from region to region and farm to farm, prospective margins seem decent enough to keep things rolling.”

This 30-year high in cow numbers indicates that despite the volatility of the global market, U.S. producers are betting on growth. However, that growth is highly concentrated.

High Plains Powerhouses and Regional Shifts

Kansas isn’t the only state in growth mode. The High Plains and West continue to consolidate their positions as the industry’s heavy hitters:

Texas: Added 31,000 cows year-over-year, bringing its herd to 719,000 head and boosting production by 4.7%.
South Dakota: Continued its steady climb with a 6.9% production increase, supported by 15,000 additional cows.
Idaho: Reached 724,000 cows (up 24,000 head), with production rising 3.4%.

The Regional Retreat: A Tale of Two Coasts

The report also highlights a stark contrast: as the High Plains boom, the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Southwest are in retreat. Washington saw a significant 5.8% drop in production, losing 15,000 cows over the past year as regulatory pressures and changing land use take their toll. New Mexico also faced a decline, with production falling 3.2% as its herd shrank by 9,000 head. Even traditional strongholds like Pennsylvania saw a dip, with production down 2.3% and a loss of 12,000 cows. These numbers tell a story of a national dairy industry that is not just growing, but migrating toward regions where modern, large-scale infrastructure can be built from the ground up.

Efficiency Meets Scale

It isn’t just about more hooves on the ground; it’s about the brilliance of modern management. Production per cow in the 24 major states averaged 2,133 lb. for March, 7 lb. higher than a year ago. This marriage of scale and efficiency has pushed the January-March quarterly production to 58.5 billion lb., up 2.9% from the same period last year.

As the industry moves into the second quarter of 2026, the data confirms a new reality. The era of localized, fragmented production is giving way to a high-precision, geographically concentrated model. With Kansas leading the charge, the U.S. dairy industry is proving through innovation and strategic expansion, it can reach heights not seen in three decades.

The Genetic Pivot: How 2026 Wellness Traits are Redefining Dairy Profitability

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:16:14 GMT

For decades, the perfect cow was defined by a single metric: the bulk tank. If she produced a mountain of milk, she stayed in the herd. But as the dairy industry enters 2026, the definition of success has undergone a radical transformation. Today’s producers are operating in a world where feed costs, heat stress, carbon footprints and supply chain demands are just as critical to the balance sheet as total pounds of milk.

To meet this complexity, genetic selection has evolved from a simple production index into a high-precision roadmap for survival. The recent 2026 updates to Zoetis’ Clarifide Plus and the Dairy Wellness Profit Index (DWP$) represent more than just incremental data points; they represent a strategic shift toward bulletproofing the dairy cow for a more volatile future.

The New Math of the $100 Gain

The core of the 2026 update is an economically weighted index designed to balance income drivers against expense drivers. In the current market, a genetic index must do more than predict output; it must predict the cost of that output.

According to Zoetis data, achieving a $100 increase in the DWP$ 2026 index translates into measurable lifetime profit across five critical pillars:

$61 in quality production — Modernizing the focus on components and volume.
$19 in antibiotic stewardship — Selecting for cows that naturally resist disease, reducing the need for intervention.
$8 in animal welfare — Prioritizing longevity and physical soundness.
$6 in fertility — Ensuring the cow stays on cycle and in the herd.
$6 in precision nutrition — Maximizing the conversion of feed to milk.

“The 2026 updates provide dairy producers with additional precision in breeding for cows that are profitable, efficient and sustainable,” says Nick Randle, senior marketing manager for U.S. dairy productivity and milk quality at Zoetis. The goal is to move away from blanket management and toward more precise animal care informed by predictive insights.

Breeding for a Warming World: Heat Resilience

One of the most significant additions to the 2026 toolkit is the introduction of DWP$ Heat. For decades, producers in the South and West have relied on mechanical cooling — fans, misters and cross-vent barns — to mitigate the devastating effects of the Temperature Humidity Index (THI). However, management alone has its limits.

Zoetis has introduced two new traits to tackle this biologically:

Fertility Heat Resilience (Z_FR) — This trait predicts the change in the probability of a first-service conception rate as THI increases.
Milk Heat Resilience (Z_MR) — This predicts the stability of daily milk production as the heat rises.

By incorporating these traits, producers can breed a herd that maintains its “cool” during the 20% of the year when heat stress typically ravages the bottom line. It’s a recognition that resilience and profitability are now inextricably linked.

The Feed Efficiency Frontier: Z_RFI and RUMiN

Feed remains the single largest expense on any dairy, often accounting for 65% of the total budget. Historically, selecting for feed efficiency was difficult because it was hard to measure on individual cows in a commercial setting.

The inclusion of Zoetis Residual Feed Intake (Z_RFI) changes that. This trait measures the dry matter intake that cannot be accounted for by milk production or body weight. In simpler terms: It identifies the cows that eat less than expected without sacrificing a single pound of milk. In validation analyses, the top 25% of animals ranked by Z_RFI consumed 2.2 lb. less dry matter per day than their peers. Across a 20,000-cow herd, that 2.2-lb. difference represents a staggering shift in the feed bill.

Simultaneously, the RUMiN trait predicts the genetic potential for enteric methane production. While methane was once seen only as an environmental metric, it is increasingly becoming a market-access requirement.

The Supply Chain Connection: The Danone Factor

The revolution in genetics is not just happening on the farm; it’s being driven by the processor. In 2024, Zoetis and Danone formed a strategic partnership to advance sustainable production. For a global giant like Danone, which has committed to cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030, the genetic makeup of their suppliers’ herds is a critical lever.

“Genomic testing of our farmers’ herds plays an important role in our global methane reduction strategy,” says Anco van Schaik, global director of procurement at Danone. By selecting for the Milk Methane Intensity (Z_MI) trait, producers can demonstrate to their buyers that they are producing lower-carbon milk at scale. This isn’t just about being green; it’s about ensuring that a farm remains a preferred supplier in a carbon-conscious marketplace.

The graph shows a projection of the improvement in methane intensity in one of Danone’s dairy herds year over year based on its DWP$ genetic progress.

(Zoetis)

Proof of Concept: McCarty Family Farms

The theoretical value of these genetic updates is best illustrated by real-world results. At McCarty Family Farms in Rexford, Kan., the 2025 Milk Business Leader in Technology award winner the pursuit of genetic optimization has fueled a massive operational expansion.

In 2011, the McCartys milked 7,000 cows with an average daily production of 70 lb. per cow. Today, they milk nearly 20,000 cows, and their productivity has soared to over 100 lb. per cow daily.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” Ken McCarty says. “We’ve increased productivity by almost 50%.”

But the growth wasn’t just in volume. By leveraging genomic insights like DWP$, the McCartys have driven their somatic cell count down to a range of 120,000 to 180,000 — a hallmark of superior animal welfare and milk quality.

For the McCartys, the focus on specific indexes like TPI and DWP$ with Clarifide Plus is the engine behind their mating and breeding strategies. It allows them to select for a cow that isn’t just a milk machine but rather a sustainable asset that fits their specific environmental and economic goals.

The End of the Average Cow

The 2026 update to Clarifide Plus and DWP$ marks the end of the era of the average cow. In a world of tight margins and high scrutiny, there is no longer room for animals that don’t pull their weight in efficiency, health and resilience.

By combining wellness, performance and sustainability into a single, profit-driven index, the industry is moving toward a more individualized form of animal care. As Brett Bristol, head of precision animal health at Zoetis, notes, the goal is to empower producers to “advance both environmental stewardship and overall herd profitability within a single, comprehensive index.”

For the modern dairy producer, the message is clear: The most valuable tool in the barn isn’t just the parlor or the feed wagon; it’s the DNA of the heifer standing in the hutch.

The Eye in the Sky: Why Computer Vision is the Next Great Leap for Dairy Management

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:04:46 GMT

For decades, the gold standard of dairy management was the keen eye of a seasoned herdsman. It was the ability to walk a pen and instinctively know which cow was beginning to favor a foot or which one had dropped a few pounds of body condition. But as herds have grown considerably over the last decade, that human eye has been stretched to its limit.

Enter the era of computer vision (CV).

As Jeffrey Bewley, executive director of genetic programs and innovation at Holstein USA, recently shared at the High Plains Dairy Conference in Amarillo, Texas, the dairy industry is on the cusp of a visual revolution. It is a shift from reactive management to a world where the eye in the sky never sleeps, never tires and — thanks to a decade of breakthroughs in artificial intelligence — is becoming more accurate than the humans it assists.

The ChatGPT of the Barn

To understand why camera technology is exploding now, we have to look outside the barn. Most of us have experimented with ChatGPT, the AI that can write a poem or summarize a legal brief in seconds. As Bewley points out, the engine powering ChatGPT is the same engine now powering the best computer vision systems on dairies.

“Every dollar invested in ChatGPT-style AI lifts all AI — including farm vision,” Bewley says.

The massive global investment in AI (projected at $200 billion in 2025) has created a tidal wave effect. It has made high-powered hardware cheaper, algorithms smarter and a talent pipeline of researchers available to solve agricultural problems.

In 2012, a breakthrough called AlexNet proved deep neural networks could “see” with human-level accuracy. By 2015, a system called YOLO (You Only Look Once) allowed cameras to detect and classify multiple objects in real-time, even in the chaotic, low-light conditions of a dairy barn. Today, that technology isn’t just a university prototype; it’s a commercial reality.

From Geometry to Gold: Body Condition Scoring

One of the most immediate wins for computer vision is body condition scoring (BCS). Traditionally, BCS is subjective and infrequent. One person’s 3.0 is another person’s 2.75.

A variety of camera systems use 3D depth sensors to measure the “geometry” of a cow. By analyzing the angles of the posterior hooks and the spring of the ribs, these systems estimate BCS automatically every time a cow walks under the lens.

The ROI is staggering. Bewley highlights research showing 3D cameras can return 200% to 500% annually, costing roughly $1 per cow per month. This is because the camera detects a downward trend in condition two to three weeks earlier than the human eye. In the high-stakes world of transition cow management, those three weeks are the difference between a simple ration adjustment and a clinical case of ketosis.

The Gait Keeper: Early Lameness Detection

If BCS is about geometry, lameness detection is about symmetry. Tech systems use pose estimation to track landmarks on a cow’s body as she walks. The AI analyzes gait symmetry frame-by-frame, assigning a locomotion score based on how the animal moves.

In a traditional setup, a cow is often only treated once she is visibly “three-legged lame.” By then, the loss in milk production and the cost of treatment have already taken a bite out of the bottom line. Computer vision flags the asymmetric walker long before she becomes the lame walker, allowing for early intervention and significantly higher recovery rates.

Rib-Arrow Dairy in Tulare, Calif., has implemented the Nedap SmartSight vision technology.

“A lame cow used to be something you could see — she was limping,” Ribeiro says. “But the camera showed us we have problems with feet long before there is a limp. It’s like wearing the same running shoes for a year on concrete. That subclinical pressure on the joints, ankles and knees starts a decline we can’t visually pick up until it’s too late.”

The impact is most visible in first-lactation animals. These bulletproof heifers often hide discomfort, but the vision tech caught the subtle crooked gait that leads to chronic issues. At the start of the program, lameness prevalence in first-lactation cows was 6%. Today, overall and severe lameness rates have been slashed to just 2% — one-third of what they were.

Beyond the Cow: Management Visibility

The power of the camera doesn’t stop at the animal’s hide. Computer vision is now being used to monitor the environment that surrounds the cow:

Feed Availability: Cameras can determine exactly when feed events happen and, more importantly, when the bunk is empty, sending alerts to the feeder in real-time.
Bird Detection: Innovative systems use AI cameras paired with guided laser beams to detect and deter birds, protecting feed quality without the use of chemicals or loud noises.
Employee Safety & SOPs: In the parlor, cameras can monitor for missed post-dip events or track phone time, ensuring the farm’s standard operating procedures are being followed when the owner isn’t looking.

The Pitfalls: It’s Not All Plug-and-Play

Despite the promise, Bewley is quick to offer a reality check.

“Camera systems are not plug-and-play,” he warns.

The marketing brochure rarely mentions the physical problems that plague dairy tech: manure splatter, dust, ammonia corrosion and the rural broadband problem.

A single 4K camera stream requires 10 to 20 Mbps of bandwidth. Many rural farms struggle to get 25 Mbps for the entire office. To solve this, the industry is moving toward edge computing — where the thinking happens on the camera itself, only sending a small alert to the cloud — and the adoption of Starlink to bridge the connectivity gap.

There is also the garbage in, garbage out factor. An AI trained on clean, perfectly lit university cows will often fail when faced with a sand-bedded freestall barn full of shadows and dirty coats. Success requires models trained on real-farm data.

The Human Factor: Your Team is the Technology

Perhaps the most critical takeaway from Bewley’s insights is that the best camera system in the world is worthless if nobody acts on the data.

“The #1 predictor of precision technology success on farms isn’t the technology. It’s the people using it,” he says, noting every successful system needs a champion (someone who owns the data), a skeptic (to ensure the alerts are accurate) and a responder (someone with a clear SOP to fix the problem the camera flagged).

The Big Question: Should You Invest?

So, is it time to hang cameras in your barn? Bewley breaks it down into three categories:

Invest Now: If you have a specific, quantifiable problem (like high lameness rates) and reliable internet.
Invest Soon: If you are planning a renovation. It is 50% cheaper to build camera infrastructure into a new project than to retrofit an old one.
Wait & Watch: If your internet is unreliable or your team isn’t yet comfortable using data to drive daily decisions. Focus on wearables first.

The Bottom Line

Computer vision is no longer a someday technology. It is happening now. As labor becomes scarcer and the margin for error in dairy production becomes thinner, the ability to see every cow, every minute of every day, will become the baseline for the modern dairy.

“Technology should serve the animal and never lose sight of the cow,” Bewley exclaims.

The transition to computer vision doesn’t mark the end of the traditional herdsman; rather, it represents the evolution of the craft. By augmenting human intuition with digital precision, producers can finally reclaim the individual attention that large-scale operations often struggle to maintain. As the industry moves forward, the competitive edge will belong to those who can bridge the gap between the barn and the byte. Ultimately, while the engine of the dairy may be changing, the mission remains the same: providing the best possible care for the cow, one frame at a time.

The Invisible Perimeter: High-Tech Biosecurity in the Age of Bird Flu

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:47:21 GMT

In the heart of Tulare, Calif., Tyler Ribeiro is conducting an experiment in “mediocrity-free” farming. As a fourth-generation dairyman at Rib-Arrow Dairy, he has seen the industry evolve through a century of challenges. But today, the stakes have shifted. While the Central Valley sun and volatile markets remain constant pressures, an invisible threat moved to the forefront of the dairy conversation last year: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), or bird flu.

For a dairy milking 1,500 cows, the emergence of H5N1 in dairy herds represents a fundamental shift in how animal well-being is defined. It is no longer just about comfort and production; it is about the rigorous defense of the milk supply itself. At Rib-Arrow, the philosophy of being tech-forward has become the farm’s strongest shield against this mounting biosecurity threat.

Early Detection: The Digital First Line of Defense

The battle against a viral threat like bird flu begins with early detection. Ribeiro’s implementation of Nedap SmartSight vision technology and activity monitoring collars provides a level of granular oversight that was impossible for previous generations. While these systems were primarily installed to monitor locomotion — reducing the lameness incident rate in first lactation cows from 6% to 2% — their value in a biosecurity crisis is immense.

“A cow starts hurting long before we can see it with our eyes,” Ribeiro notes.

Tyler Ribeiro

(Rib-Arrow Dairy)

This same principle applies to viral illness. Before a cow shows clinical signs of HPAI, such as a drop in milk production or lethargy, her data — captured 24/7 in the NedapNow cloud platform — begins to tell a story. By catching subtle changes in activity or movement early, high-tech dairies can isolate animals and implement quarantine protocols before a virus has the chance to move through the entire herd. In the era of bird flu, data is the difference between a minor incident and a total operation shutdown.

Automated Perimeter

Biosecurity is often compromised by the movement of people and equipment. Rib-Arrow’s lean toward automation directly mitigates this risk. The HoofStrong automated foot baths, which have been in place since 2015, are a prime example. Because the system is fully self-contained and self-cleaning, it reduces the need for constant employee intervention and chemical handling.

(Rib-Arrow Dairy )

Similarly, Ribeiro’s three-pronged approach to fly control — using automated flash-sprays, baits and parasitic wasps — limits the presence of pests that can carry pathogens across the dairy. By automating these dirty work tasks, the dairy ensures protocols are executed with 100% consistency, creating a closed-loop environment where the risk of cross-contamination is significantly lowered.

Protect the Pipeline: A Strategic View

The challenges faced by dairies like Rib-Arrow are the focal point of the upcoming 2026 High Plains Dairy Conference in Amarillo. A critical addition to the lineup is the panel “Protecting the Milk Supply,” featuring experts like Dee Ellis from Texas A&M and New Mexico state veterinarian Samantha Holeck. Their work bridges the gap between the regulatory requirements of state-level safety and the daily reality of the parlor.

As Ribeiro notes: “I hate it when people show up and say, ‘You’re doing a great job.’ Show me where I’m missing.”

This mindset is essential for modern biosecurity. Protecting the pipeline requires producers to work alongside data scientists like Jason Lombard of Colorado State University’s AgNext to understand the science of staying open, which involves analyzing every touch point on the farm — from how calves are transported to how manure is managed — to ensure business continuity in the face of a biosecurity event.

(Rib-Arrow Dairy)

Reputation and Resilience

The final layer of defense against bird flu is communication. For a dairy like Rib-Arrow, transparency and clear communication are vital.

Ribeiro’s “data nerd” approach allows him to provide a real-time truth about his herd’s health. Whether it is downloading thousands of cells of data to analyze with AI or checking his phone app for a cow’s locomotion score, he is equipped to prove the resilience of his operation.

As the road through 2026 and beyond is paved, the goal remains the same as it was 100 years ago: healthy cows and a sustainable business. The difference now is the eye in the sky and the mountain of data are the tools ensuring the next generation of the Ribeiro family is still standing — and profitable — no matter what biological threats the world throws at them.

Data, Dirt and the 100-Year Legacy: Inside Rib-Arrow Dairy’s Tech Revolution

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:08:23 GMT

In the heart of Tulare, Calif., where the Central Valley sun can push the mercury past 110°F and the mud of a rainy season can challenge even the sturdiest boots, Tyler Ribeiro is conducting an experiment in mediocrity-free farming.

Ribeiro is the fourth generation of his family to steward a dairy legacy that spans over a century. Since 1994, the family has operated at the current Rib-Arrow Dairy site, but the operation today looks vastly different than the one his grandfather managed. With 1,500 milking cows, 1,000 Holstein-Angus crosses for beef and 800 acres of farmland, Rib-Arrow is a high-octane intersection of traditional animal husbandry and cutting-edge silicon.

Tyler Ribeiro

(Rib-Arrow Dairy)

“I am not one that likes to settle for mediocre,” Ribeiro says, standing in the middle of a barn designed with the precision of a wind tunnel. “We are pushing the systems we have, and we’re learning as we go. I haven’t got paid enough to tell you all the good things and none of the bad — we’re going through it as it is.”

(Rib-Arrow Dairy)

The Cow-Centric Blueprint

Walking through Rib-Arrow, it becomes clear every piece of steel and every line of code is centered on the cow’s perspective. This philosophy starts with the physical geometry of the barn. Ribeiro’s father and grandfather designed the entrance to the milking parlor to be narrow, widening as it opens up.

“It’s like being in a tunnel behind a big rig,” Ribeiro explains. “If you can’t see what’s in front of the truck, you’re hesitant. The way this is set up, as they’re walking in, they can see around the cow in front of them. It helps their load time speed up dramatically.”

Comfort is equally engineered. Along the top of the barn, an array of fans and cooling soakers manage the California heat. But these aren’t just on-off switches. The system uses eye-to-eye sensors. If a cow isn’t in a specific area, the cooling grid shuts off to conserve resources. In a closed-loop nod to sustainability, the water used to soak the cows and clean the lanes is captured from the cisterns used to cool the milk.

(Rib-Arrow Dairy)

Seeing the Unseen: The Locomotion Revolution

Perhaps the most significant bite Rib-Arrow has taken in recent years is the implementation of Nedap SmartSight vision technology. For a hands-on dairyman like Ribeiro, admitting that a camera can see better than a human eye was a hurdle, but the data has been undeniable.

“A lame cow used to be something you could see — she was limping,” Ribeiro says. “But the camera showed us we have problems with feet long before there is a limp. It’s like wearing the same running shoes for a year on concrete. That subclinical pressure on the joints, ankles and knees starts a decline we can’t visually pick up until it’s too late.”

The impact is most visible in first-lactation animals. These bulletproof heifers often hide discomfort, but the vision tech caught the subtle crooked gait that leads to chronic issues. At the start of the program, lameness prevalence in first-lactation cows was 6%. Today, overall and severe lameness rates have been slashed to just 2% — one-third of what they were.

Precision Management in the Cloud

The vision tech doesn’t work in a vacuum. It is paired with Nedap activity monitoring collars and the Cow Locating system. This tech stack allows Ribeiro’s team to not only receive an alert that a cow needs attention but to pinpoint her exact location in the barn. This data flows into NedapNow, a cloud-based platform that provides real-time insights.

Ribeiro has even refined the software’s parameters to match the biological reality of hoof healing.

“We found that a 31-day hold time wasn’t enough for a hoof to grow out and heal. We’ve moved to a 41-day sweet spot. If she’s still flagging after that, we know we need to look deeper.”

This level of precision changes the economic math of the dairy. Ribeiro points to a high-producing cow the system flags frequently.

“The guys ask why we keep bringing her in. I tell them, for a cow like that, I’ll pay $7 a month in maintenance to keep her in the herd and keep her comfortable,” he says. “We’re aiming for old cows — high-producing, healthy veterans.”

(Rib-Arrow Dairy )

Automating the Dirty Work

While the cameras watch the cows, other automated systems handle the grueling maintenance tasks that traditionally lead to labor fatigue. Rib-Arrow has used HoofStrong automated foot baths since 2015. Running five days a week and rotating between Formalin and a proprietary copper/zinc formula (LQA), the system is entirely self-contained and self-cleaning.

“It doses via schedule to keep the potency where it’s supposed to be, and then pressure pumps the manure and product out at the end of milking,” Ribeiro notes. “It keeps my people away from the chemicals and ensures the protocol is executed perfectly every single time.”

Even pest control has gone high-tech. Ribeiro uses a three-pronged approach to flies: baits, parasitic wasps and an automated flash-spray system. The sprayer, triggered by sensors as cows pass through, provides full-body coverage without wasting product or requiring an employee to stand in a cloud of spray.

The Human Element and the Future

Despite the heavy lean into automation, the human element at Rib-Arrow remains remarkably stable. Most of Ribeiro’s outside crew has been with the dairy for over a decade. The technology hasn’t replaced them; it has empowered them.

“The system shines a light on things you’d look at and say, ‘She’s healthy,’” Ribeiro says. “Now, we have to educate ourselves on what the data is actually saying. My guys have tablets in their Kubotas. My breeder has a tablet. We’re all looking at the same real-time truth.”

Ribeiro, a self-described “computer geek and data nerd,” isn’t finished. He’s already planning to install Nedap’s pass-through ID system in the parlor to replace older RFID tech that struggled with “noise.” This will pave the way for Nedap’s SmartFlow milk meters, closing the loop on individual cow performance data.

As Rib-Arrow Dairy moves toward an average lactation of 2.7 and beyond, the goal remains the same as it was 100 years ago: healthy cows and a sustainable business. The difference now is that Tyler Ribeiro has a digital eye in the sky and a mountain of data to ensure the next 100 years are even better than the last.

“I hate it when people show up and say, ‘You’re doing a great job,’” Ribeiro concludes. “Show me where I’m missing. Show me the holes. That’s what this technology does — it shows me where I need to work.”

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The 3-Year Bet: Navigating Semen Choices and Herd Dynamics

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 15:54:07 GMT

In the high-stakes world of dairy management, a single decision made in the breeding lane can echo through a farm’s balance sheet for years. When a producer stands with a straw of semen in hand, they aren’t just breeding a cow; they are making a three-year financial and biological investment.

On a recent episode of the “Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast,” Daryl Nydam, a professor of dairy health and production at Cornell University, sat down with Craig McConnel, an associate professor and director of veterinary medicine extension at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine , to discuss the complex intersection of herd dynamics, semen selection and long-term sustainability. Nydam’s message to producers is clear: While short-term cash flow is tempting, the long-term health of the dairy depends on maintaining the right number of replacements to ensure every stall is occupied by an efficient animal.

3-Year Investment Cycle

The fundamental challenge of replacement planning is the significant lead time required to bring a new animal into the milking string. As Nydam points out, a breeding decision made today involves a nine-month gestation period followed by approximately two years of growth before that animal begins producing milk.

“It’s really hard to predict your replacement needs three years forward,” Nydam explains. “Are we going to invest in sexed semen so we have enough replacements in three years, or are we going to try to shortcut that for quick cash flow?”

This shortcut usually involves breeding dairy cows to beef bulls to produce a high-value crossbred calf. While this provides an immediate sizable check at the farm gate, it reduces the pool of future replacements, effectively locking the producer into their current herd structure for years to come.

The ‘Black Calf’ Bubble

The rise of the beef-on-dairy market has fundamentally shifted the math for many producers. What began as a $500 premium for a crossbred calf has climbed to $750, then $1,000 and even higher in some regions.

“I don’t know where this bubble is going to go, but those things markedly influence herd replacement rates and therefore the dynamics of the herd,” Nydam says.

The temptation of immediate cash can lead to overbreeding to beef. When producers curtail their replacement pipeline to capture calf checks, they lose their most important management tool: the ability to cull. Nydam argues that if you don’t have an available heifer, you cannot make the most efficient cow-by-cow decisions; you are forced to keep underperforming or unhealthy cows simply to keep the stalls full.

The Culling Conundrum

From a veterinary perspective, culling is often seen through the lens of health: replacing a cow because she is sick or open. However, Nydam encourages a more management-centric view.

“If you show up on any dairy on any day, can you find one cow that you would like to replace that day?” Nydam says. “It’s really rare that I go to a dairy and say there are no cows here that I want to replace today.”

The ability to act on that instinct depends entirely on having a heifer ready to calve. As Nydam puts it: “A sick cow today doesn’t cause a heifer to calve two years ago.” If the replacement wasn’t planned for 36 months in advance, the producer is stuck with the “40-pound cow” that is dragging down the herd’s average efficiency.

Sustainability and the ‘Maintenance Dilution’

Beyond the immediate economics, the balance of replacements has a significant impact on a farm’s environmental footprint. Sustainability in dairy is largely a game of diluting maintenance costs.

A lactating cow requires a significant amount of energy and dry-matter intake just to maintain her body before she produces a single drop of milk. High-producing, efficient cows dilute that maintenance tax over a larger volume of milk.

“Having a few extra heifers is actually less resource-intensive versus not having the most efficiently productive lactating cows,” Nydam says. He adds that while a yearling heifer eats 20-25 lb. of dry matter, a lactating cow eats 55-60 lb. Keeping an inefficient cow because you lack a replacement heifer is a far greater waste of resources than raising a small surplus of heifers to ensure only the best cows remain in the herd.

Balancing Cash Flow with Strategy

Nydam acknowledges that “cash is king” and the revenue from crossbred calves is a vital part of the modern dairy business model. However, he cautions against sacrificing long-term profitability for short-term liquidity.

The goal for 2026 and beyond should be a strategic middle ground. By using tools to predict future replacement needs and understanding the marginal milk value required to offset a beef-cross calf check, producers can fine-tune their herd structure.

Ultimately, long-term sustainability is about having the most efficient animal in every slot on the dairy, all the time. Achieving that requires looking past today’s calf check and planning for the milk check of 2028.

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Idaho’s $4 Billion Dairy Boom: Why the Gem State is Defying West Coast Trends

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:38:52 GMT

While milk production across the West Coast faces a period of contraction, Idaho is carving out a different narrative. With USDA reporting the state’s production value near $4 billion in 2024, Idaho has transitioned from a regional player into a global dairy powerhouse. According to Rick Naerebout, chief executive officer of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, this surge isn’t accidental. It is the result of a unique confluence of business-friendly policy, aggressive vertical integration and a fundamental shift in how dairy cattle are valued.

A Surge on a Massive Base

The sheer scale of Idaho’s recent growth is impressive. Naerebout reports the state has seen consistent growth rates of 5% to 8% per month year-over-year for the last 15 months. For 2025, Idaho is projected to be up 7.5% in total milk production.

“That 7.5% is on a very big base,” Naerebout explains. “It equates to roughly 3.5 million pounds of milk a day more this year than we had last year. We’ve definitely turned on the milk production.”

This growth has been facilitated by two primary catalysts. First, Idaho’s dairy producers are entering the current economic downturn with exceptionally healthy balance sheets following strong financial performances in 2024 and early 2025. Second, and perhaps most importantly, regional processors have finally lifted base restrictions that limited producers to fractional growth for years. With those caps removed, the Idaho dairy industry has surged to meet the available capacity.

The Magic Valley: The Heart of the Industry

The epicenter of this expansion remains the Magic Valley. While growth is visible across the state, approximately 75% of Idaho’s dairy industry is concentrated in this region. The concentration allows for an infrastructure of scale that is difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Idaho’s operations are notably larger than the national average, boasting nearly 2,500 cows per dairy. This scale, combined with a business-friendly climate — including the absence of agricultural overtime pay — allows Idaho producers to maintain lower costs than their neighbors in California or Washington.

Components and the “Black Calf” Phenomenon

Interestingly, the growth isn’t just coming from more cows; it’s coming from “better” milk. According to Naerebout, while volume is up 7.5%, the increase in milk components means the actual yield for processors is closer to 9%. This allows plants to produce more cheese, butter and powder for every pound of milk delivered.

Producers in Idaho, like other states, are also shifting culling practices.

“We’re hanging onto cows because they’ve got a black calf in them, and that calf is worth roughly $1,500,” Naerebout says.

The beef-on-dairy trend has become ubiquitous in Idaho, with adoption rates significantly higher than the national average of 70%. For many Idaho producers, the day-old calf has become a high-value commodity that provides immediate cash flow with minimal risk, as many are partnered with large feedlot operators, like Simplot, or feedlots to take the animals immediately.

Resilience Through Risk Management

The dairy industry is notoriously volatile, yet Idaho has shown remarkable resilience. Over the last 30 years, the state has only seen negative growth twice: in 2009 and 2013. Naerebout attributes this to a sophisticated approach to business that sets Idaho producers apart.

“Our dairymen are very savvy businessmen,” he notes. “We have a higher-than-average use of hedging tools. They insulate themselves from market downturns by making sure they are hedged.”

This financial discipline, coupled with being well-capitalized, allows these large-scale operations to weather economic storms that might shutter smaller farms in other regions.

The Shift to Vertical Integration

Perhaps the most significant structural change in Idaho’s dairy landscape is the move toward vertical integration. Unlike the traditional cooperative structure involving hundreds of members, Idaho has seen the rise of “processor-producers.”

Facilities like Idaho Milk Products and High Desert Milk were founded by small groups of dairy families — sometimes fewer than six — who pooled their capital to build their own processing plants. While Naerebout describes the startup phase of these ventures as “absolute hell” where families nearly lost everything, those who survived are now capturing the margins that previously went to third-party processors.

“They are capturing more margin for their business and using it as a form of risk mitigation,” Naerebout says.

This evolution from simple milk producers to sophisticated industrial processors represents the future of the Idaho dairy model.

Looking Ahead

As the industry faces a tightening economic window, Idaho’s producers remain focused on the long term. The goal for many is not just survival, but the creation of viable, multi-generational businesses. By combining aggressive adoption of technology, sophisticated risk management, and a willingness to invest in the processing side of the value chain, Idaho is proving that even in a mature industry, there is still significant room for a “growth state” to thrive.

“Idaho has been, and will likely remain, a growth area for plants and processors alike,” says Phil Plourd, president of Ever.Ag Insights. “It’s a hospital environment where all the stakeholders seem aligned around growing the industry.”

With strong components, high-value beef-on-dairy calves and a business environment that rewards scale, Idaho is well-positioned to remain the cornerstone of Western dairy production for the foreseeable future.

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Innovation in Every Drop: Apple Shamrock Farms Crowned 2026 Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:40:02 GMT

In the heart of Northwest Pennsylvania lies an exemplary model of dairy innovation: Apple Shamrock Farms, LLC. With their recent accolade of being named the 2026 International Dairy Foods Association’s Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year award winner, the Waddell family showcases what it truly means to be modern dairy producers.

(Apple Shamrock Farms)

Founded in 1976 by Robert and Lorna Waddell, alongside their son Robert J., Apple Shamrock Dairy continues its legacy today under the leadership of seventh-generation farmer Josh Waddell. The dairy remains a true family affair, with Josh’s brother, Joe, as a farm partner (primarily working off-farm), his mother, Christine, managing the books, and his father, Robert J., overseeing the milk hauling side of the business.

Apple Shamrock Farms LLC exemplifies a holistic approach to innovation, integrating advanced solutions across every facet of their expansive 3,500-acre operation, which supports a 1,250-cow milking herd producing an impressive 38 million pounds of milk annually.

“There’s a lot of unique things that I think we do well, but cows are No. 1 around here. That’s what we built our business on and has allowed us to do what we’ve done,” Josh Waddell says. “We are truly honored to receive this recognition.”

(Apple Shamrock Farms)

Maximizing Herd Potential Through Data and Genetics
At the core of Apple Shamrock Farms’ operations in Townville, Pa., is their sophisticated approach to dairy management, primarily driven by data and genetics. The Waddells implement a high-tech Afimilk cow monitoring system that delivers comprehensive data analytics, allowing for precise adjustments in cow care and feeding. This meticulous approach is supported by strategic feed tracking software, which ensures optimal component levels in milk production. This all has helped Apple Shamrock consistently achieve high component levels with 94 lb. of milk, with a 4.35% butterfat, and 3.35% protein, respectively. This translates to 109.8 lb. of energy corrected milk.

“The scale of the business we are in, we need the high output from the cows,” Waddell says.

Beyond daily management, Apple Shamrock Farms is a pioneer in genetic advancement. Through the strategic use of IVF and genomics, they are actively shaping their herd’s future, selecting embryos from their highest-producing, functional cows to enhance genetics and improve herd longevity. This forward-thinking approach ensures they are milking the right cows and maximizing the potential of every animal, even with a significant percentage of 2-year-olds in the herd.

Apple Shamrock has sold a lot of replacement heifers over the years, and Waddell notes the buyers want genomics, but they don’t want to “buy a dented Mustang.”

Their commitment to excellence extends beyond sound genetics to meticulous transition and calving pen all-in, all-out management and with a constant focus on raising the best, healthiest calves they can.

(Apple Shamrock Farms)

Pioneering Environmental Stewardship and Resource Optimization
Innovation at Apple Shamrock Farms isn’t confined to the barn; it extends to robust environmental stewardship. The Waddells have implemented a comprehensive three-cell manure system with a low-maintenance sand separation system. This not only allows them to reclaim sand for bedding but also significantly enhances the potency of their liquid fertilizer. Critically, all liquid manure is injected directly into the ground, a practice that maximizes crop yields while drastically limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and preventing runoff.

Apple Shamrock effectively separates sand by mixing two gallons of “tea water” (thinner manure from cell three) with one gallon of sand-laden manure, then employing a large dewatering screen and stacking conveyors to create 35'-high sand piles for reuse after eight months.

“This innovative sand removal process has significantly improved our overall hauling efficiency by 20% to 25% and generated substantial savings on spreading equipment, enough to justify the sand lane’s cost even without sand reuse,” Waddell says.

(Apple Shamrock Farms)

Despite the system being designed for 1,200 cows and currently handling more, leading to some water quality challenges, Waddell says the farm prioritizes a straightforward approach, avoiding complex mechanical separation buildings and planning to expand storage to meet current herd needs.

Their commitment to sustainability is further evident in their extensive satellite cropping operation, encompassing 565 acres of corn and soybeans. At the satellite cropping operation and the home operation, guidance systems and precision planters are used. These practices collectively contribute to energy efficiencies and a notable reduction in GHG emissions, demonstrating a profound dedication to both economic and environmental sustainability.

“I used to call it the four-leaf clover, but our approach to sustainability is really a full circle,” Waddell explains.

A Model for Future Challenges and Industry Leadership
Apple Shamrock Farms is strategically positioned to meet future economic and sustainability challenges head-on. Their philosophy of “structured growth” focuses on maximizing performance and efficiency, driving high output while achieving significant labor savings. By coupling genetic potential with cow comfort, they aim for a more mature, resilient herd, ensuring long-term viability.

“Looking ahead, we first plan to optimize our dairy by first filling the remaining 200 to 400 cow capacity in their parlor to improve cash flow,” Waddell explains, noting a core focus for the next decade is eliminating “Josh spots,” inefficient areas requiring daily attention, and consolidating their dry cow, prefresh and calf operations into a single, highly efficient complex where specialized labor can focus.

Beyond their farm gates, the Waddells are recognized leaders.

“They are truly a testament to what can happen when innovation and creativity meet a strong work ethic and desire to progress,” says Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, in a nomination letter supporting Apple Shamrock.

(Apple Shamrock Farms)

The Waddell family actively participates in benchmarking groups, shares insights with peers and holds numerous leadership roles across the dairy industry and within their local community. Whether housing “foster cows” for a neighboring farm after a devastating fire or hosting school tours, their spirit of cooperation and advocacy for the dairy industry is unwavering.

“This spirit of support in times of crisis is what makes our agriculture industry great, the Waddells are a standout example,” Redding says.

Apple Shamrock Farms embodies what’s achievable when innovation converges with tradition and tenacity. As a paragon of modern dairy farming, they set a dynamic example for the future, proving hard work and creative solutions can propel the industry forward.

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A Conversation With Ag Secretary Rollins on Labor, Disease and MAHA

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 13:33:15 GMT

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins stuck to streamlining the federal government labor rules to alleviate dairy’s worker crisis and said more aggressive measures are coming to prevent and contain disease, in an interview with Dairy Herd Management. Rollins this week was at the joint annual meeting hosted by National Milk Producers Federation, the United Dairy Board and the United Dairy Industry Association in Arlington, Texas.

While there, she said the H-2A visa program is particularly broken for dairy, which requires year-round support instead of seasonal workers. She also said measures, such as mandatory testing for lactating dairy cattle prior to interstate movement, are not aggressive enough to address modern biosecurity threats.

Below is a summary of Dairy Herd’s 20-minute conversation with Rollins, who discussed labor, disease prevention as well as her feelings on the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

What Federal Efforts Are in the Works to Ensure Adequate Labor for U.S. Dairies?

One of the central concerns among dairy producers, and the entire industry, is comprehensive immigration reform. To put it in perspective, more than two-thirds of today’s 9.36 million dairy cows are milked by immigrant laborers in the U.S., according to the National Milk Producers Federation.

Currently, the H-2A visa applies strictly to seasonal or temporary labor. Dairy operations, however, require consistent, skilled workers every day of the year. Milking and caring for cows, managing processing facilities and ensuring food safety are daily tasks that don’t pause between seasons. This mismatch leaves dairy farmers and processors nationwide without a legal means to fulfill their guestworker needs.

In addition to the need for year-round help, Secretary Rollins notes farmers must interact with three different federal agencies to use the H-2A program. Moreover, the costs associated with securing labor have significantly increased, with reports from farmers in south Texas indicating average hourly costs, including transportation and housing, reaching $30 to $35 per hour. Comparatively, similar labor across the border is $2 per hour, Rollins says, illustrating a system that is both unsustainable and inherently unfair.

Ideally, any H-2A program changes will reduce costs and red tape, but comprehensive solutions ultimately require congressional action.

In addition to visa programs, Secretary Rollins says the current administration remains focused on sealing borders and mass deportations.

“Everyone understands the dynamics of an open border, and the millions and millions, we’re unable to count how many, that crossed during the last administration. The President’s No. 1 promise as a candidate in 2022 through 2024 was sealing the border and mass deportations,” she says. “Looking at this challenge through the lens of understanding labor is absolute when we can’t feed ourselves, combined with where we are in terms of immigration, those are the nuances.”

How is the Administration Addressing Threats to Animal Ag?
On day 1, after being sworn in as Secretary of Ag, Rollins was briefed on HPAI . She made it clear that while some measures, such as mandatory testing for lactating dairy cattle prior to interstate movement , had been enacted, a broader and more aggressive approach is necessary. Recognizing that maintaining the status quo was insufficient, a comprehensive strategy was essential — not just from USDA but across the entire federal government.

“I realize there are lots of opinions on my boss, President Trump, but I think the one thing that most people would agree on is that he leaves it all in the field. And, that we have to do everything we can for this moment that we were given to fix a very broken system, whatever that system may look like, in this case, which is animal disease,” Rollins says.

In February 2025, the Trump administration set forth a five-point plan to combat HPAI . Rollins notes the dairy sector, in particular, showcased remarkable adaptability to HPAI threats, demonstrating industry resilience and proactive measures.

Significant investments, such as a $100 million innovation grant , have been allocated to explore vaccines and therapeutic solutions. However, the complexities of viral mutations necessitate caution, especially regarding vaccination strategies, to prevent potentially more dangerous strains from emerging.

“I think we’re going to make more progress than perhaps has been made. Having said that, it’s a virus and the virus always wins,” she says, noting they are worried about New World screwworm and took aggressive actions to combat that by closing several ports.

“We’ve not imported new animals, which is one of the reasons beef prices are up, but we are looking now to figure out how to start reopening ports. I think we’ve gotten our arms around exactly what the problem is,” she says. “We’re building out new sterile fly facilities, which is the only way we eradicated it 30 to 40 years ago, but we have a really good system in place.”

Rollins shares collaborations with international counterparts are stronger, creating an unprecedented partnership with Mexican authorities to manage and preempt future animal agriculture outbreaks effectively. Enhanced border protocols, including disinfection and ivermectin treatments for imports, underscore a commitment to protecting livestock health.

“I feel confident that we are aggressively attacking all pieces of NWS,” she says.

What Does the MAHA Movement’s Mean for Dairy?
The “Make America Healthy Again” movement aims to revamp the nation’s food system, and Rollins offers reassurance dairy products at the forefront.

“Health care costs too much. We’re not getting the care we need, especially to vulnerable populations. How do we fix that?” she asks. “Over the last year, it is completely flipped to, what are Americans eating? What are we serving in our schools? What are we serving in our SNAP program, which 42 million Americans are on the food stamp program.”

While the current economic situation is troubling, Rollins is confident in the long-term potential for profitability and sustainability in the dairy industry.

“What milk, cheese and other dairy products mean as we completely and fundamentally shift our entire food system is our dairy industry is at the very front tip of the spear,” she says, noting the response markets are answering and the dairy industry, too, with the $11 billion in new processing plants, U.S. dairy is riding a wave of momentum that is fueled by consumer demand.

“In the long term, I’m not sure there is an agriculture industry that has more to gain and that will see more of a pivot toward real profitability and real sustainability than this [dairy] industry. I could not be more excited to help lead on that,” she says.

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Healthy Lungs, Better Beef

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 20:04:20 GMT

The beef-on-dairy revolution has transformed the cattle industry in the U.S. In less than a decade, beef-on-dairy calves have evolved from virtually non-existent to making up nearly one-fifth of the U.S. fed beef supply.

The journey to the feedyard for those calves is quite different than that of their native beef pen mates. As this unique segment of the industry evolves, interest is growing in improving the systems that eventually bring those calves to market, from their dairy of origin to the packer.

In a recent I-29 Moo University webinar, Penn State University animal science graduate student Ingrid Fernandes presented results of her master’s degree research. The study examined the incidence of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in beef-cross calves and its potential influence on fed beef performance.

Her presentation, “Long-Term Impacts of Early-life Bovine Respiratory Disease on Growth and Carcass Traits in Dairy Cross Cattle,” described the study that followed 143 calves from two Pennsylvania dairies from birth to harvest. The trial specifically focused on respiratory health and its long-term influence on animal performance.

Fernandes notes that according to 2017 USDA data, respiratory disease accounted for 32.7% of dairy calf mortality and 23% of death loss in beef calves. The same metric for beef-on-dairy calves is not currently known. She says dairy-style production systems, which vary considerably from a native beef calf’s upbringing, can leave calves vulnerable to BRD.

“A calf’s immune system develops gradually over its first eight months of life,” she says. “Everything that happens in that period can put them at risk of disease.”

Important stressors include castration, dehorning, transportation, dietary changes, dehydration, weaning, commingling and vaccination. Fernandes notes these stressors are often stacked together in dairy-style systems. Additionally, beef-on-dairy calves might make several ownership changes in their first eight months of life.

“Major BRD pathogens are commensal; they are part of the natural microbiota of the upper respiratory tract in cattle,” she explains. “Stressful events lead to compromised immune systems. This may create an imbalance in the microbiota, allowing the pathogens to travel to the lower respiratory tract, where they can cause inflammation, tissue damage and lung consolidation.”

Fernandes notes some calves with BRD exhibit obvious symptoms, while others display none. To positively diagnose BRD in the study, she and her team relied on thoracic ultrasonography at four days postweaning to detect lung consolidation.

Based on a number of criteria, including the size of lung consolidation area, they ultimately sorted calves in the first phase of the study into one group of 37 BRD-positive calves and another of 106 healthy controls. None of the calves in either group received any sort of treatment for BRD.

In terms of gain, an interesting phenomenon occurred. When evaluated up to 83 days of age, the calves with BRD suffered a loss in average daily gain (ADG) of about one-third pound per day. But when their performance was followed up to 238 days of age, they compensated for that lost gain and actually weighed slightly more than the controls by the end of that study period.

So, if they recovered, why worry? The answer: meat quality. When the same animals were observed in the second phase of the study , which followed them through the feedlot and ultimately harvest, some surprising findings emerged.

Compared to the controls, the BRD-affected cattle showed no significant difference in ADG, hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, ribeye area, 12^th rib fat thickness or yield grade. But one area of vast difference did show up: marbling.

The calves with BRD had 7% lower marbling scores overall. In terms of quality grades, 34% of the healthy controls graded High Choice or Prime, while only 14% of the BRD calves achieved one of those grades. More specifically, the controls produced seven animals that graded Prime, while the BRD group had none. Cattle with BRD at weaning also tended to have 3.05 times greater odds of having a carcass graded Select than the control cattle that were healthy at weaning.

Fernades attributes these results to intramuscular adipogenesis, or the development of fat cells within the muscle. It’s a process that begins early in life, and that’s where a health challenge like BRD can make a difference.

“This is evidence that our management of beef-cross calves early in life can have lasting effects on their performance and ultimate value,” Fernades says. “It points to our need for communication between industry segments and calf-rearing practices that reduce stress and disease opportunism.”

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Salmonella Dublin Remains a Stubborn Dairy Health Challenge

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 13:28:30 GMT

No one wants their calves to be infected with Salmonella, but the serotype Dublin is an especially ominous threat, and it’s not going away.

According to Angel Abuela, veterinarian and instructor of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Salmonella Dublin has become substantially more prevalent in dairy and calf-rearing facilities in the U.S. and Canada since 2012.

At the 2025 Recent Graduate Conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, Abuela briefed young veterinarians on the characteristics and challenges presented by S. Dublin.

While Salmonella is most often associated with scours in calves, he notes S. Dublin usually causes pneumonia, respiratory distress and fevers instead. Calves appear listless, anorexic, dehydrated and can also suffer from septicemia and arthritis. Bloody scours are possible but not very common.

Acute infections of S. Dublin typically strike calves at 2 to 12 weeks of age, and sudden death within one to two days after onset of illness can occur due to endotoxic shock. Data from S. Dublin outbreaks shows up to about one-third of infected calves became clinically sick, and about a quarter of calves with confirmed S. Dublin diagnosis died.

For those that survive, lingering effects can include poor growth rate, ill thrift, lameness due to arthritis, and loose stools. It is less common in adult animals, but when infected, those older cattle can experience a sudden drop in milk production, slight fever, mild diarrhea and abortion. Persistent infection with intermittent fecal shedding during times of stress is also possible in adult cows.

In addition to its critical impacts on cattle health, two distinct characteristics of S. Dublin make it a high-level concern: its multi-drug resistance properties and its potential effects on human health.

“In the U.S., S. Dublin has become one of cattle’s most important multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacteria,” Abuela notes. “The MDR has complicated the treatment of clinically sick animals and has become a threat to human medicine.”

S. Dublin is resistant to many common antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections in animals and humans. Currently, there are no approved antibiotics for veterinary use to treat S. Dublin. Abuela notes the only therapeutic tools are supportive care, including fluid therapy to correct dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, along with anti-inflammatory therapy.

As a zoonotic disease, it is possible for S. Dublin infections to spread from ill animals to humans, causing severe digestive illness and bacterial infections of the bloodstream. While uncommon, S. Dublin infections in humans are most likely to occur in the individuals caring for sick animals, including farm personnel and veterinarians who might accidentally ingest infected animal feces or fluids.

Abuela recommends the following on-farm offense strategies to help minimize the transmission of S. Dublin infections in cattle:

Providing clean, dry calving pens and avoiding large group-calving areas.
Removing calves from contact with their dams’ feces as soon as possible after birth.
Placing calves in a clean environment, where they have no contact with other calves or adult cattle.
Maintaining strict control of colostrum management.
Feeding pasteurized, rather than raw, milk to calves.
Identifying and isolating newly sick cattle immediately and ensuring that farm personnel handle sick cattle separately.
Sanitizing and disinfecting all equipment used between animals.
Ensuring personnel wash hands, boots and any common equipment used between groups of animals.

A herd veterinarian should investigate suspected cases of S. Dublin for a full diagnostic work-up, treatment and prevention plan.

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Kinder Ground: Supporting Animals and the People Who Care for Them

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 17:59:51 GMT

Cassandra Tucker has devoted her life’s work to studying and educating others about the welfare of production animals. But she wanted to do more to make the ideas she researched a reality for farm animals and their caretakers.

So, the University of California-Davis researcher, who is considered one of the world’s leading cattle welfare scientists, set out to create real change in cultivating on-farm compassion for animals. She partnered with her veterinarian colleague, Dr. Jen Walker, to form Kinder Ground . The non-profit organization funds grants for projects that support on-farm animal welfare or animal welfare education.

The Kinder Ground founders note that, while tremendous progress has been made in animal welfare research, “audits and certification had become common place, but progress in animal welfare had stalled and had encouraged a habit of compliance, not compassion. The supply chain was demanding better but often lacked the expertise or bandwidth to help make it happen. Farmers felt like they were being policed rather than partnered with.”

Kinder Ground takes a different approach, working with the farming community to promote animal welfare in a manner that is supportive, rather than punitive. They believe farmers deserve better partners, and the animals deserve lives worth living. Their mission: “Supporting the farming community to elevate the welfare of animals in food production.”

Examples of on-farm projects might include installing calf brushes, enlarging pen sizes, or implementing a locomotion scoring system. Kinder Ground also supports education projects that improve the understanding of animal welfare and the competence of caregivers to deliver it.

Each grant recipient must have “skin in the game,” in the form of cost sharing or committing time and energy to bringing the project to life. Spreading the principles of the specific project elsewhere on the farm or in the larger community is also encouraged.

Projects in the United States and Canada are eligible for Kinder Ground grants, and finalists will be asked to submit a letter of support from a trusted adviser, such as the herd’s veterinarian of record, nutritionist, or Extension agent. There is no specific farm size or number of animals required, but hobby farms, sanctuaries or farmsteads keeping animals for personal use are not eligible for funding.

The Kinder Ground application is intentionally straightforward, and takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete. Grant applications are reviewed, with subsequent awards granted, twice per year. You can access the application here .

Kinder Ground is a U.S. federally registered, tax-exempt charity organization. All donations come with a 100% donation guarantee, which means your whole contribution goes toward helping farmers and animals. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Learn more about donating to Kinder Ground here .

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Ketosis in Dairy Cows: Strategies for Prevention and Management

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:43:21 GMT

Ketosis continues to be a metabolic disorder that impacts dairy cows from precalving to 100 days after calving. The basics of ketosis is when dairy cows go into a negative energy balance, leading to the mobilization body fat (reserves) to meet the demand for energy associated with high milk production, late pregnancy, high milk fat content related to mobilized body fat (non-esterified fatty acids or NEFA) and limited dry matter intake.

Blood glucose demand is high due to synthesis of milk lactose (sugar), immune system demands due to calving stress and insulin resistance. If excessive NEFA are mobilized, the liver can convert NEFA to blood ketones. Blood ketones can be used as an energy source, but excess levels can be excreted in milk as ketones (lost energy), reduced dry matter intake and lower milk production.

Wisconsin DHI data reflect the potential costs and risks with ketosis. In a field study, 3,400 herds and 215,000 cows over three years were evaluated using milk ketone analysis from day five to day 21 after calving. First lactation cows that had ketosis had a 22% chance for ketosis in the next lactation. Older cows had a 45% chance of developing ketosis in the next lactation if they had ketosis in the current lactation. Milk ketone tests are available in U.S. and Canadian DHI labs.

Cows may have elevated ketones and NEFA in the first week after calving. The challenge can cause cows to shift their metabolize in week two, based on Minnesota data. Nutritional and management factors can be considered on dairy farms.

Body Condition Score
Research results show excessively heavy cows have lower dry matter intake after calving and mobilize excessive body weight. For optimal health and production, the body condition scores for dry cows should be 3.0 to 3.25 (score ranges from 1 as thin to 5 as excessively fat.) It’s suggested for heifers to calve at a BCS 3.0.

The problem can start on farms before cows enter the dry cow pen due to lower milk production, delayed pregnancy, health issues and one TMR being fed to all lactating cows.

Wisconsin researchers reported cows at 150 days pregnant were fed a high group TMR or switched to a lower energy ration prior to drying the cows off. The low energy diet contained 0.68 Mcal per pound of dry matter, 20% starch, and 4.3% fat. The high energy diet contained 0.79 Mcal per pound of dry matter, 29% starch, and 5.6% fat. All cows were fed the same lactating ration after calving. The high energy group had a BCS of 3.69 and 44 millimeters (mm) of back fat. The low energy group had a BCS of 3.25 and 37 mm of back fat. The low energy group had higher dry matter intake 10 days before calving and 21 days after calving. No significant differences in milk yield were reported between groups (the low group averaged 73 pounds compared to 78 pounds in the high group in the initial 21 days after calving).

NEFA blood levels were lower for the lower energy group, with lower incidences of retained planta, metritis and displaced abomasum (66 cows in the study did not allow for statistical differences.) Less propylene glycol treats were reported in the low energy group (4 treatments compared to 13 for the high energy group). Cows in late lactation should be evaluated for BCS to determine if a lower energy group is needed. One guideline is 10% to 15% of a herd could be moved to a low energy diet.

Dry Matter Intake
If dairy cows can achieve higher dry matter intake after calving, this can solve the problem of meeting energy needs while reducing the amount of body weight loss. Key factors include having close-up and fresh cow diets to smoothly transition diets meeting the nutrient needs of the cow and unborn calves along with colostrum synthesis. Pay attention to forage quality (keeping uNDF under 10% of the ration dry matter), avoid overcrowding (under 100% bed and feed bunk capacity in close-up and fresh cow groups) and separate heifer groups (social interaction and different feed consumption patterns).

Feed Additives
Feed additives can impact energy dynamics in dairy cows. Feeding rumen-protected choline during the transition period can increase dry matter intake after calving while reducing fat accumulation in the liver, along with greater milk yield for the entire lactation. Monensin can increase the level of propionic acid, a rumen volatile fatty acid, and provide a source of blood glucose.

Chromium can improve insulin and glucose responses (0.5 ppm in the ration dry matter). Propylene glycol drenched at 300 to 500 milliliters per treatment can increase blood glucose levels leading to an insulin response. Continue drenching until milk or blood levels of ketones drop.

Feeding propylene glycol does not lead to the surge in blood glucose. Yeast products and buffers can stabilize the rumen pH, fiber digestion and improve microbial production of VFA and amino acids.

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Feed Efficiency: A Basic Metric for a Complex System

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 14:14:27 GMT

Feed efficiency has become a growing topic in the dairy industry, driven by sustainability goals and desires to optimize farm profit. But what is feed efficiency, how can it be influenced, and should you use the measure on your farm?

What is Feed Efficiency?
At its core, feed efficiency asks how well do cows utilize the feed that is provided. There are many ways to define feed efficiency depending on context, whether in research, genetic evaluation or farm management. The most common measure on dairy farms is pounds of energy corrected milk (ECM) divided by pounds of dry-matter intake (DMI). Throughout this article series, feed efficiency will refer to this metric (ECM/DMI), which gives a snapshot of how effectively a cow turns feed into milk.

Feed efficiency values typically range from 1.3 to 1.8 depending on stage of lactation, milk production level, cow health and other factors¹. Low feed efficiency might indicate a cow is not converting feed into milk efficiently, possibly due to poor digestion, health issues or other competing biological demands. On the flip side, extremely high feed efficiency could signal that a cow is mobilizing too much energy from body reserves (fat) to support milk production, which is not sustainable long-term.

Limitations of Feed Efficiency (ECM/DMI)
While improving feed efficiency could help reduce costs or improve resource use, it’s important to recognize ECM/DMI has limitations.

Feed efficiency reflects just a snapshot of performance and is influenced by many variables: stage of lactation, animal health, feed quality, ration formulation, bunk management, environmental conditions, stress and more^2,3. Feed efficiency calculated as ECM/DMI can be misleading, especially if cows are gaining or losing body condition. In those cases, the metric could over- or underestimate true efficiency. Additionally, feed efficiency doesn’t account for feed intake or growth during the dry period or heifer-rearing stages because it focuses only on lactating cows. Therefore, ECM/DMI alone cannot tell the whole story.

Feed efficiency does not directly reflect economic efficiency⁴. A higher ECM/DMI ratio doesn’t always mean better profit, especially if increased feed costs or shifts in component production offset gains. Similarly, cows, groups or herds with the same feed efficiency can still differ in economic return. For example, in Table 1, both cows have identical feed efficiency, but Cow B generates more milk and more income over feed cost (IOFC) than Cow A. This is because, in this case, each additional pound of milk adds more revenue than the cost of the extra dry matter, assuming feed costs per pound of dry matter remain constant.

Identical feed efficiency doesn’t mean equal profit. Example assumes 4.3% fat, 3.2% protein, milk pricing based on Federal Milk Marketing Order 30 at the time of writing, and feed cost of $0.15/lb of dry matter.

(UW-Madison Division of Extension)

Feed Efficiency: Neat to Know or Need to Know?
Feed efficiency can be an interesting (neat to know) number on your farm, but its value expands when it becomes part of your decision making (need to know).

In the neat to know stage, you might collect and review the data out of curiosity. When feed efficiency becomes need to know, it’s because you’re actively using it to guide management decisions such as adjusting rations, targeting forage use or tweaking cow management strategies. When paired with other farm metrics, feed efficiency can be a valuable, although imperfect, tool for tracking progress toward goals. Accurate feed efficiency data depends on reliable measures of DMI, milk yield and milk components. Errors in estimating intakes or milk production can distort this calculation.

Building from the Basics
Feed efficiency is a basic metric that provides a basic overview of how well your cows convert feed into milk. While it’s not a perfect measure of efficiency and doesn’t capture the full complexity of dairy farm efficiency, it offers a starting point for evaluation.

In future articles, we’ll explore the web of factors that impact ECM/DMI, management strategies to influence feed efficiency, and how to create a data action plan to support your farm’s success.

References:

Hutjens, M. (2013). Hoard’s Dairyman webinar: Feed efficiency – what’s new? [Webinar]. Hoard’s Dairyman. https://hoards.com/videos-54-hoards-dairyman-webinar-feed-efficiency&mdashwhats-new.html
Phuong, H.N., Friggens, N.C., de Boer, I.J.M, & Schmidely, P. (2013). Factors affecting energy and nitrogen efficiency of dairy cows: A meta-analysis. Journal of Dairy Science, 96:7245-7259. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-6977
VandeHaar, M.J., Armentano, L.E., Weigel, K., Spurlock, D.M., Tempelman, R.J., & Veerkamp, R. (2015). Harnessing the genetics of the modern dairy cow to continue improvements in feed efficiency. Journal of Dairy Science, 99:4941-4954. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-10352
de Ondarza, M.B. & Tricarico, J.M. (2017). Review: Advantages and limitations of dairy efficiency measures and the effects of nutrition and feeding management interventions. The Professional Animal Scientist, 33:393-400. https://doi.org/10.15232/pas.2017-01624

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Breaking: USDA Warns of Avian Flu in Nebraska Dairy Farms

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:30:40 GMT

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) National Veterinary Services Laboratories recently delivered surprising news. A dairy cattle herd in Nebraska has tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, marking the first known case of HPAI in cattle within the state. Although this outbreak within dairy cattle initially occurred in March 2024, it’s the first instance in Nebraska. As cases have been relatively limited to a handful of states, APHIS teams are on the ground, collaborating with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to carry out comprehensive investigations and assessments.

Though this detection significantly impacts the Nebraska cattle farming community, it will not alter USDA’s diligent eradication strategy for avian influenza. Biosecurity persists as a vital element in preventing the spread of disease. USDA strongly advocates dairy farms across the nation amplify their biosecurity protocols, particularly with the upcoming fall migratory bird season. Producers are urged to report any unusual clinical signs in their livestock or unexpected wildlife mortality to their state veterinarian to refine containment measures.

Consumer Health Remains Secure
An assurance to consumers remains crucial in times of such uncertainty. According to FDA, there is no cause for concern regarding consumer health or the safety of commercial milk supplies despite the detection. It is affirmed pasteurization effectively neutralizes the H5N1 virus. Milk intended for human consumption originates only from healthy animals, with milk from potentially impacted animals being safely segregated from the human food supply.

Lessons from the West Coast
Experiences from other regions can provide valuable insights into managing such outbreaks. A pertinent case is that of Zonneveld Dairies, Inc. in California, which faced HPAI outbreaks in October 2024. Jacob Zonneveld, the dairy’s president, reflected earlier this year at the 2025 California Dairy Sustainability Summit in Visalia on the challenges the outbreak presented.

With a sprawling operation of 10,000 cows and an equivalent number of replacement heifers spread across 6,600 acres in Laton, Calif., Zonneveld points out the challenges in preventing birds from accessing feed piles, emphasizing the role of biosecurity in treating infected cows, rather than prevention.

Like Nebraska, California dairies faced significant hurdles. In November, Zonneveld Dairies experienced a 15% decrease in milk production, signaling the peak impact of the epidemic. Despite a gradual recovery, production levels remain slightly lower compared to the previous year.

The persistent nature of avian influenza and its contingent effects on dairy farming call for an unwavering commitment to biosecurity and cross-sector cooperation.

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Can We Feed Dams for Better Performing Calves?

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 11:45:57 GMT

In the delicate dance that is dairy nutrition, it’s not all about just getting more milk.

How and what we feed pregnant cows also matters for the development of the calf she is carrying. Researchers have just begun to scratch the surface of the influence of dairy dam nutrition on the lifetime productivity of their calves, according to Billy Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry at Kansas State University.

In a presentation at the 2024 Cornell Nutrition Conference, Brown explored recent knowledge that can help dairy cows not just deliver healthy calves, but calves that perform better throughout their lifetimes, whether their career destination is the feedlot or the milking parlor.

Creating those successful calves is dependent on events through a number of biological touchpoints throughout their embryonic and fetal development, many of which are not completely understood. Brown says factors such as placental mass, blood flow and nutrient transport to the fetus can be critical.

Other effects may happen at the cellular level. Brown says “epigenetics” refers to DNA alterations that influence genomic material that ultimately activate cellular functions. By pulling the nutritional levers in dams that activate these changes, traits like growth, marbling and mammary gland productivity in their calves might be influenced for the better.

This type of research has been conducted for decades in the beef industry. A number of studies have shown cows that were supplemented with either energy or protein while pregnant produced calves with greater body weight from birth through slaughter, and heifers from supplemented dams reached puberty earlier.

Less-extensive beef research has also shown calves from supplemented dams showed statistical improvements in marbling, quality grades and ribeye area – an interesting finding considering the ever-growing proportion of calves from dairy dams that now are channeled into beef production.

But to date, dairy cattle research has not pursued this topic as extensively.

“There has been a flurry of recent and convincing research evaluating the negative impact of gestational heat stress on calf performance,” Brown says. “But comparatively fewer investigations have focused on effects of dam nutritional interventions.”

From the dam nutrition research that has been conducted in the dairy arena, one thing we have learned is simply feeding dams more is not a simple solution at all. While research has shown dairy calf birth weight increases about 4.5 lb. with each half-point increase in body condition (5-point scale), over-fat cows and first-calf heifers can experience calving difficulties and metabolic challenges in lactation.

“Data from other species indicate dams with excessive energy intake during gestation have deleterious effects for the neonate’s long-term ability to regulate feed intake and body composition,” Brown says. Those long-term effects, including over conditioning, higher metabolic disease incidence and reduced milk yield, have been shown to surface even more in the second generation from overfed dams.

Researchers have also learned high milk production does not guarantee dams will pass that genetic potential to their offspring. In fact, those calves might be hindered by their mothers’ milk production, as several studies have shown.

“Intuitively, the dams with greater milk production might have greater genetic merit for milk production, which could be passed along to their offspring,” Brown hypothesizes. “However, if epigenetic changes are occurring from reduced nutrient supply to the fetus while competing with the mammary gland, then this could limit the progeny milk supply potential.”

So, while hitting the sweet spot between too little and too much energy and protein is one challenge, Brown believes more knowledge could be drawn from the finer details of dairy rations.

Feeding rumen-protected choline to dairy dams has been shown to improve offspring performance in terms of birthweight; preweaning weight gain; feed efficiency; marbling; kidney, pelvic and heart fat; and insulin sensitivity. Rumen-protected methionine and lysine have been shown to positively affect offspring growth and weight gain, as have omega-3 fatty acid supplements.

Brown believes these, and other supplements, could help fine-tune lactating dairy rations to deliver the best possible nutrition package for both the lactating cow and her developing calf.

He says more research is needed, noting: “As this body of research grows, the future of the dairy industry may involve more deliberately setting up calves for success through the use of dam nutritional management during gestation.”

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How Young Herds Can Set Back Calf Health

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 11:54:34 GMT

The average dairy cow in the U.S. today produces about 2.8 lactations before she is removed from the herd and replaced with a younger counterpart. As a result, more than one third of the total U.S. lactating dairy population is made up of first-calf heifers.

That’s not a completely bad thing, according to Dr. Alvaro Garcia, feeds specialist, nutritionist and cattle management consultant for Dellait Animal Nutrition and Health.

“Younger cows are often more genetically advanced and economically efficient,” Garcia notes.

But those young lasses do lag behind their more seasoned herdmates in a number of other aspects that influence herd success, specifically:

(1) Colostrum volume and quality – Garcia said younger cows usually produce less at first milking, and research has shown their colostrum contains 30% to 50% less IgG than mature cows. Low-quality colostrum results in higher rates of failure of passive transfer (FPT) of immunity in calves. FPT is a handicap to calves in both the short and long term.

Affected animals may be weak, have poor suckle reflex, and have greater susceptibility to infections causing diarrhea, pneumonia, and septicemia. In the long game, these calves often have reduced average daily gain, poorer feed conversion, delayed puberty, lower first-lactation milk yields and are likely to be culled earlier.

(2) Calving challenges – First-calf heifers are more prone to dystocia due to their smaller pelvic size and inexperience. The result can be oxygen deprivation in calves and a greater likelihood they will become injured or die during birth.

(3) Mothering deficiencies – After their first delivery, young heifers often exhibit poorer maternal behavior like cleaning off their calf. Garcia says this can lead to delayed bonding and thermoregulation.

(4) Multiple nutrition demands – Because heifers are still growing at the time their first calf arrives, nutrient partitioning may favor their own development, impacting colostrum production and threatening calf vitality.

First-time bovine moms are asked to do a lot of novel things in a small amount of time. With these multiple new demands hitting them all at once, it’s no wonder they lag behind in the colostrum department.

“Colostrum from first-lactation cows should never be used without testing,” Garcia says. “If it falls short, it should be blended with higher-quality colostrum from older cows or supplemented with IgG replacers.”

Additionally, he advises dairies to maintain a reserve bank of high-quality, frozen colostrum, ideally sourced from older cows. He also emphasizes the importance of milking fresh cows within two hours of delivery, before colostrum becomes diluted with transition milk.

Finally, Garcia says ongoing herd surveillance for passive transfer of immunity is critical for all dairy herds, but especially young herds. When evaluated at 24 to 48 hours of life, he suggests calves show serum total protein of 6.2g/dL or Brix score of at least 8.4% for adequate transfer.

“If more than 10% of calves fall below this threshold, it is a sign that colostrum protocols need urgent revision,” he states.

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AI on Dairies is Coming in Hot

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 11:44:48 GMT

Artificial intelligence (AI) is permeating nearly every facet of society, and soon it will be a regular fixture on dairy farms, too, according to Miel Hostens, Robert and Anne Everett endowed associate professor of digital dairy management and data analytics at Cornell University.

On a recent episode of the “ Cornell Cow Convos ” podcast, Hostens says he currently considers AI to be in the exploratory stage.

“At this moment, I think we’re in a bit of a ‘hype cycle,’” he says. “We’re just starting to see some of the advantages that could potentially be applicable to the dairy industry.”

Hostens says there currently are very few AI-based technologies that are ready for commercial farms, but that will be changing quickly as companies strive to apply the technology to assist dairies in meaningful ways. Some of the potential applications he mentioned are parlor management, lameness/locomotion scoring, automated body condition scoring (BCS) and calving detection.

He says the origins of AI have been in place for decades but have been bolstered recently by cheaper and more robust computational power, coupled with natural language processing techniques and photography and video technology.

Some “baby steps” toward full-on AI have already be implemented on dairies, such as using basic statistics to program systems to signal alerts. But in that case, humans made the decisions and set the data thresholds, versus the machine learning that is the cornerstone of AI.

“Nowadays, with machine learning, you can throw a whole bunch of data at these algorithms, and the algorithms are able to find patterns themselves without humans being involved anymore,” he explains.

There will be questions and even ethical considerations along the way. For example, it’s one thing to capture and apply data on cows for BCS or locomotion scoring, but is it an invasion of privacy to analyze and apply human behavior in parlor management? Hostens says that is yet to be determined.

And who, exactly, owns the data?

“The ownership stays forever with the one who creates the data and that’s the farmer,” declares Hostens, who also is director of Cornell’s Bovi-Analytics Lab.

But, he adds, unlike a tractor or piece of land, it is possible for more than one entity to own data. In addition to the farm, it could be legally possible for the AI company to own a common set of data.

Just like a robotic milker or feed pusher, Hostens says it’s also important to have a plan in place for breakdowns. If the system is knocked offline or quits functioning for some reason, who will step in to take its place?

In preparation for the onset of AI, Hostens advises dairy managers to take the following steps to maximize it in their business:

Get your data ready – Think about the issues on your dairy that could be solvable through AI, and begin collecting data sets on them now that could potentially be plugged into an algorithm later.
Consider monetizing it -- Hostens says AI companies cannot train their algorithms and deliver services to dairies without the ground truth that happens on a dairy.
“If you are generating data for an AI company, you can ask for something in return,” he advises.

Hostens says AI will obviously not eliminate the need for people to care for animals on dairies, but it will shift employee needs in some ways. For example, fewer people might be needed to manually perform BCS or walk pens to monitor calving, but someone will need to regularly maintain the equipment that performs those tasks instead.

“Those systems will have to be running all the time,” he says. “What we tend to do is put those cameras high on the ceiling and hope that they will monitor forever. But you will need to have some kind of maintenance system around it.”

AI systems also still need to be developed to a point that they are generalizable across farms, Hostens says.

“But the promises are big, that’s for sure,” he adds.

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From Brew to Moo: The Sustainable Dairy Practices at Ayers Farm

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:33:49 GMT

A good brew isn’t just for humans — it’s on the menu for the Holstein cows at Ayers Farm in Perryville, Ohio, too. This unique twist in cattle feed comes from an unexpected source: the Budweiser plant in Columbus. At Ayers Farm, home to more than 600 Holstein cows, this innovative use of brewer’s mash, a byproduct of the beer-making process, has become an integral part of their operation.

(Ayers Farm)

A Sustainable Diet
At Ayers Farm, sustainability is a key focus. The herd’s nutritionist orchestrates a delicate balance of crops and upcycled food byproducts to ensure the cows’ diet is both nutritious and environmentally conscious. Kathy Davis, a seventh-generation dairy farmer at Ayers Farms, emphasizes the importance of this approach.

“By using a byproduct from another process, we prevent it from ending up in a trash pile,” she says, underscoring their commitment to sustainable practices and innovative feed solutions that benefit their cows and the broader agricultural community.

Davis says they have been feeding distillers grains ever since she was in high school in the late ‘80s. She says farmers are the ultimate recyclers, adding they also include corn gluten, soybean meal and cottonseed to their cows’ diets.

“It was close by, and we could incorporate into the ration what would be beneficial,” she says, noting that prior to feeding distillers grains, the farm used potato waste from a nearby Frito Lay plant. “That is when we were feeding out steers. The potato starch content didn’t make it a good fit to feed our cows, but we’re always looking for benefits, and the distiller grain is economical, and our nutritionist was really excited about the possible benefits for it.”

(Ayers Farm)

Behind the Scenes
Ayers Farm isn’t just feeding its cows better — it’s also incorporating technology to enhance the health and productivity of their herd. From GEA activity monitors on breeding-age heifers, as well as lactating and dry cows to integrated feeding programs, plus DeLaval cameras in the maternity pens, the farm is leveraging tech to stay ahead. These systems provide valuable data that helps manage everything from health indicators to milk production metrics, ensuring issues are flagged before they become problems.

“It’s not just about milk production; it’s about having a good workforce and external partners, such as nutritionists and veterinarians, that help us achieve a sustainable, rewarding livelihood,” Davis shares. “Ultimately, it has to return a good livelihood to us and for our employees, so that our work-to-life balance is good, and we feel like we’re accomplishing something when we come to work every day.”

In addition to the cows, the Ayers have an equal number of replacement heifers and farm 1,500 acres. A total of 25 people work on their farm, which also includes owner-operators.

Challenges and the Future
Despite their advancements, like many farms, Ayers Farm faces challenges, particularly concerning labor and logistical hurdles in milk hauling. Yet, they are adapting, trying innovative solutions such as breeding and beef-on-dairy strategies to improve margins.

Looking ahead, steady communication and strategic planning are crucial for Ayers Farm, especially with generational transitions on the horizon. Davis’ father and uncle are in their ‘70s, while she and her cousin continue to accumulate more responsibilities. Succession planning not only involves the transfer of assets but also adapting the day-to-day share of operation responsibilities to ensure smooth management handoffs.

Ayers Farm is a testament to how traditional farming values can coexist with innovative practices. By incorporating distillers grains, optimizing feed through technology and planning for future generations, Ayers Farm continues to thrive in an ever-evolving agricultural landscape.

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Unraveling the Mystery of Hemorrhagic Bowel Syndrome in Dairy Cattle

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:55:54 GMT

An emerging, highly fatal intestinal disease of adult cows, hemorrhagic bowel syndrome (HBS), draws concerns from dairy producers, veterinarians and nutritionists, as it is also known as the sudden death disease of dairy cattle.

According to Angie Rowson, a board-certified dairy practice veterinarian who has been working with HBS for over two decades, there is still not much known about HBS. She says producers have either never heard of this disease, have sporadically seen HBS on their farm, or are constantly battling the disease.

HBS is characterized as an acute and sometimes massive hemorrhage in the small intestine, which can subsequently lead to the formation of intraluminal blood clots and obstruction. Furthermore, affected cows suffer from the collective effects of blood loss, intestinal obstruction and necrosis of the bowel.

As a veterinarian, Rowson’s boots-on-the-ground work in central California allowed her to see firsthand the impact of this fatal disease in dairies, as she performed several HBS necropsies in dairy cattle.

“One herd I worked with was losing eight to 10 cows a month from HBS,” she says. “We wanted to get to the root of why this was happening. Not just because of the financial loss, but also because of the pain associated with the disease.”

Despite being a fatal disease, little attention regarding funding and research has been conducted. Many details surrounding HBS, including contributing factors, continue to be a mystery.

“It is frustrating that no one in the U.S. is doing any new research on HBS,” Rowson adds. “The problem is we cannot recreate it in a lab, so we don’t know exactly what causes HBS. We only know bits and pieces and that the cause is multifactorial.”

Scott Bascom, technical services manager for Phibro Animal Health, agrees much is unknown about what causes some cows to develop HBS and not others.

“HBS cases are most common following stressful periods in a cow’s lactation cycle such as calving and early lactation, when cows are subject to several different stressors. These stressors can reduce immune function,” Bascom says. “The cow’s immune system plays a role in whether a cow becomes an HBS cow. If the cow’s immune system becomes compromised the cow is more susceptible to the effects of invasive molds, toxins and pathogenic intestinal flora, which can lead to HBS.”

Common Denominator
Any dairy breed can be associated with HBS, though Brown Swiss have been reported to be more predisposed. While HBS is reported to be sporadic, some dairies will have multiple cases within a few days. Other common denominators of cows with HBS are:

Second lactation or greater (although there have been cases of younger lactation cows with HBS)
Between 100 and 120 DIM (though HBS can occur at any time during the lactation cycle)
Producing larger volumes of milk and consuming larger volumes of feed
Immunosuppressed
Larger, higher production herds

Rowson states that often cows who are higher in production levels consume a large volume of feed, and the diet at that stage of lactation is often high in protein and energy but lower in fiber. She also notes that feed is passing through the intestine at a faster rate. However, little research has been conducted to determine what impact this has on developing HBS.

“Research from University of California-Davis shows the bleeding starts in the wall of the intestine, but we don’t know what starts that process,” Rowson states. “Maybe the diet the cow is consuming, specific pathogens or her intestinal motility contributes?”

Although it is more common in the fall and winter, HBS can happen any time of the year. Bascom says this is likely a result of dairies starting new crop feed coupled with inadequate fermentation. Feed management goes beyond silage, and Bascom reminds producers that mold can occur in other feedstuffs.

“Silage management practices at harvest and feed out can minimize the growth of molds,” Bascom says. “At harvest, put it up at the right moisture, pack it and cover it. At feed out, manage the face to reduce mold growth and avoid feeding moldy silage.”

HBS Symptoms
Diagnosing HBS based on clinical signs alone is generally not possible, because these symptoms can also be found in other diseases. Clinical symptoms connected with HBS include:

Sudden onset of depression
Dehydration
Decreased feed intake and milk production
Abdominal distension and pain
Either no feces or a decreased amount of feces that are dark and contain clotted blood

An additional symptom associated with HBS is cold extremities. A rectal examination may reveal distended loops of the small intestine or even no stool, due to the blockage. Often, most cows appear to be in good health before the development of this disease, hence the moniker “sudden death disease,” as many times a producer finds a cow down or even dead.

Rowson notes HBS is often either under- or overdiagnosed, and she says the latter is frequently the case.

“Producers do not always perform a necropsy and chalk a sudden death cow to hemorrhagic bowel syndrome,” she says.

A proper diagnosis is often made through necropsy, while ultrasound is only able to make a definitive diagnosis of HBS a quarter of the time. Exploratory surgery is needed to confirm and treat HBS, but this can be expensive and is time-sensitive, as cows would need to be rushed to a veterinary hospital or veterinary medical school.

Rowson says statistics show the University of Wisconsin veterinary school has a high success rate with surgical treatment, but they have also reported a high rate of recurrence, with nearly 40% recurring within the first 12 months.

“We don’t know exactly why some cows that survive the initial surgery develop HBS again. It’s been speculated that there might be a genetic predisposition to HBS or maybe, management practices designed to achieve high milk production increases the risk of developing HBS, and these cows are going right back into that environment,” Rowson states.

Management Tips
Make no assumptions, Rowson advises. When a cow dies of what is believed to be HBS, “open her up,” she says. “It could be a hardware disease or abomasal ulcers or something else.”

Bascom agrees and says producers can’t properly evaluate the effectiveness of HBS mitigation strategies (i.e. feed additives, management changes, etc.) if they don’t accurately know why cows are dying.

“Oftentimes, producers might make an abrupt change to the ration, taking out a supplement because they feel like it’s not working,” he says. “However, without performing a necropsy, they easily could be dealing with a completely different cause of death.”

Recommended management tips to help prevent HBS:

Make sure feed is in front of the cow 22 to 24 hours a day
Push feed up frequently
Prevent sorting and slug feeding
Ensure enough fiber is in the ration
Use a consistent time for feeding, day after day
Limit spoilage with haylage and corn silage by ensuring proper fermentation, packing right, chopping at the optimal moisture level, using an inoculant
Remove mold before feeding — pitch the crust on the silage and side walls

Takeaway Advice
Both Rowson and Bascom encourage limiting stressors that cows encounter. In addition to monitoring feed quality, be sure to evaluate and manage the cow’s environment for potential stressors. Excessive cow movements that disrupt an established social order can cause cows to go off feed. Minimizing overcrowding, focusing on cow comfort and keeping heat stress at bay can lead to a less stressed cow and, therefore, help her maintain an overall healthier immune system.

Furthermore, minimizing the stressors that cows are subject to, especially around the time of calving and early stages of lactation, is essential. Bascom notes some cows are more susceptible to the effects of stress than others, which can affect immune function and predispose cows to develop HBS as well as other disorders.

Several feed additives are in the marketplace claiming to boost the immune system. While feeding additives can help boost immune health, Bascom reiterates that identifying and minimizing stressors is key.

“A cow can live in the best environment and still be exposed to stressors during a normal lactation cycle, because events such as calving and dryoff are stressful,” Bascom adds. “Try to recognize and manage the stressors, so when a cow experiences stressful events, like calving, she is better positioned to handle that stress.”

To better understand this fatal intestinal disease that could be impacting your herd, don’t make assumptions. Learn what the true cause is behind the death of any cow and then manage the symptoms from there.

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U.S. Dairy Herd Continues to Grow: Fastest Pace in 17 Years

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 20:52:17 GMT

Last fall, after more than a year of low dairy cow cull rates, U.S. dairy producers started to rebuild the milk herd. So far this year, dairy producers have held cull rates low enough to add milk cows at the fastest rate since 2008, says Sarina Sharp, analyst with the Daily Dairy Report.

“While the heifer shortage has remained acute this year, today’s herd is the largest in four years, but it’s also growing older,” Sharp says. “To fill every stall, producers are holding on to cows for an extra lactation or keeping cows whose milk yields are lower than desired because not enough heifers exist to replace less-productive livestock.”

In late-September 2023, U.S. dairy producers began to rein in cull rates, sending fewer animals to packing plants. At first, the lighter slaughter volumes were not substantial enough to offset the ongoing heifer shortage, and the U.S. dairy herd declined. The herd continued to shrink until January 2024, but as producers continued to hold onto lower-end cows, the decline in U.S. milk cow numbers ended, and the national dairy herd began growing again last autumn, Sharp says.

“Now the trade is watching closely for any sign that cull rates are climbing, which would foster slower growth in milk cow counts” she says.

For the first time since March, USDA’s weekly slaughter volumes regularly topped 50,000 head in July, and in the last two weeks of the month, producers sent more cows to packing plants than they did a year earlier. At first glance, rising slaughter volumes appear to indicate the situation could be changing, but a deeper dive shows otherwise, according to Sharp.

“The increases in cull rates can easily be explained by seasonality, mathematics and weather,” she says. “First, cull rates typically jump in July following spring flush. And while U.S. dairy producers are now milking 146,000 more cows than a year ago, slaughter volumes can top last year’s very low counts without boosting culling percentages.”

Over the past two decades, she explains, dairy producers have typically culled about 32% of the milk cow herd each year. Last year, the cull rate dropped to 29.6%. This year, with 146,000 more cows, producers could continue to cull less than 30% of the herd and still send nearly 1,000 more cows to slaughter each week.

In addition, while slaughter in late July was unusually high in the Midwest, a derecho that slammed into the Central Plains was likely a major driver of the increase. USDA data showed that slaughter in the Midwest jumped 2,400 head above the prior year in the final week of July.

“Powerful winds damaged facilities and forced some producers to send cows to the packer while they repaired barns and milk parlors,” Sharp says. “Eventually, health and longevity will necessitate a return to historical cull rates, but for now, economics suggest slaughter volumes will remain near year-ago levels and expansion will continue, leading to strong milk production.”

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New Dairy Training Platform Boosts Consistency and Compliance

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:55:15 GMT

As the dairy industry continues to grow and change, it’s met with a unique set of challenges— from job roles to the expectations surrounding animal care and efficiency. Consumers are increasingly eager to understand how their food is produced and to verify ethical practices are followed.

Rising to meet these needs is DairyKind, an innovative platform transforming training processes within the dairy industry.

New System For Animal Welfare
Designed by a dedicated team of seven veterinarians, DairyKind offers a robust system for training and monitoring animal well-being practices on farms. This third-party platform ensures accountability and transparency by providing verification to the consumer, effectively bridging the gap between farm practices and public concern.

“The DairyKind seal gives confidence to consumers that the dairy products they purchase come from farms prioritizing animal well-being,” says Michelle Schack, DVM and co-creator of DairyKind.

Schack, along with her team, created DairyKind in response to the increasing audits and evaluations dairies face regarding welfare, safety and environmental concerns.

The Training Gap
DairyKind was conceptualized in 2019 and launched in 2020, starting in Arizona and quickly expanding to 12 states. It’s delivered more than 72,000 trainings across the U.S., offering a comprehensive online platform which provides accessible training in employees’ native languages. This ensures clear communication from day one and establishes foundational knowledge that supports ongoing in-person training by veterinarians and farm managers.

“It’s so important that every farm employee has very clear expectations from day one,” she says. “Group training is great, but it’s not enough. There was a gap there that needed to be filled. We saw that need, and we created DairyKind, as an online platform to deliver training that is accessible at any time in the native language of the person, and is a way that the farmers can deliver training to their employees in a very practical way.”

The platform has been particularly beneficial for ensuring compliance during various audits, whether that be the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) audit or others.

As highlighted by Schack, training deficiencies consistently rank among the top program corrective actions within industry evaluations. DairyKind aids farms by providing structured, reliable training documentation, simplifying the audit process and helping maintain high welfare standards.

The Benefits of Standardizing Training
Beyond compliance, DairyKind offers farms a practical training solution, informed by veterinarians who understand the unique operational challenges faced by dairy farmers. Courses are brief, typically ranging from five to fifteen minutes — making them easily integrable into daily routines without overwhelming staff. They even have quizzes to ensure employees comprehend the training lessons. The system also empowers farm owners, allowing them to oversee operations across multiple sites and ensure consistent communication of values and expectations.

For larger operations, DairyKind offers a hierarchy system that enables owners to efficiently manage training across different locations. Whether it’s a small family-run farm or a vast multi-location enterprise, the ability to track training and ensure every employee understands the ‘why’ behind their duties helps maintain consistency in animal care.

“We’ve really focused on seeing that people understand the ‘why’,” she says. “Understanding the ‘why’ can help them be better equipped to make better decisions in their everyday job and do the best job that they can and feel more empowered.”

When a farm has an audit — whether they have two employees or hundreds — it requires documentation of some type of training. DairyKind offers just that.

Consumer Connections
By upholding rigorous standards and maintaining transparency, DairKind allows consumers greater insight into the sources of their dairy products. Some clients have gone as far as to incorporate the DairyKind logo on their products, underscoring their commitment to animal welfare and engaging consumers with their values.

DairyKind is more than just a platform; it’s a catalyst for change, offering the dairy industry a path forward in an increasingly conscientious market. Through tools like this, the future of dairy will not only involve more efficient practices, but also greater alignment with the values of transparency, accountability and ethical treatment of animals — values that consumers passionately support.

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A Unique, Hands-On Approach to Training Tomorrow’s Dairy Veterinarians

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 19:34:28 GMT

Large animal veterinarians specializing in dairy have almost become the unicorns of the industry. In a space that is nearly dominated by small animal vets, finding young professionals interested in pursuing a dairy-focused practice has become increasingly rare. That’s why hands-on programs like the University of Vermont’s CREAM Program (Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management), are playing a vital role in developing the next generation of dairy veterinarians.

Stephen Wadsworth, the current director of CREAM, brings more than four decades of dairy veterinary experience to the role. As a teacher for the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, his background in private practice offers students a direct link between academic concepts and real-world applications in dairy herd management.

“The CREAM program was started in 1988 by an animal geneticist on faculty,” Wadsworth explains. “It’s a 60-cow tiestall, high-producing registered Holstein herd, currently averaging about 100 lb. per day, and it’s run almost exclusively by undergraduate animal science students, most of whom are pre-vet and have never even handled a dairy cow before.”

What began as a temporary teaching position in 2018 quickly became a full-time role that Wadsworth calls more rewarding than he ever expected. After four decades in a busy, six-person dairy practice in northwestern Vermont, he welcomed the opportunity to pass on his knowledge to those just entering the profession.

“Though I should be retired, it’s too much fun,” he says. “It’s been far more gratifying than I imagined.”

Beyond the Books: Learning by Doing
According to Wadsworth, the CREAM program offers more than just basic classroom learning. Students participate in every aspect of managing the university’s dairy herd, from milking and feeding to reproductive protocols and record-keeping. The immersive experience prepares them for future roles in veterinary school and beyond.

Currently, the program is divided into three core areas: academic instruction, work skill development, and community and personal growth.

“First, there’s lecture, about two and a half hours per week where I cover livestock medicine, herd health and management principles,” Wadsworth says. “Second is work skill development. Many of these students have never held jobs requiring punctuality or responsibility. So, they learn that when we say you have to be here at 3:30 a.m. for morning milking, it really means 3:20 a.m., or preferably 3:15 a.m. to set up the parlor.”

He adds that the third area, community and personal development, might be the most impactful.

“We talk about what it means to be a person of good character and how to work together in a group,” Wadsworth says, noting how the first few days learning how to operate a dairy is challenging for the students.

“You’ve got 20 students working together to milk 60 cows in a double-six parlor. Some days it’s like herding cats,” he laughs. “The first milking during the summer took seven hours, but now they’re down to an hour and a half. But in a few weeks, there’s this tight community and new friendships formed, and students leave the program saying it was the most transformative thing they’ve ever done in their life.”

While the program serves as a steppingstone for students applying to veterinary school, it often leads to a deeper transformation.

“Some students come in thinking this is just a box to check for their application,” Wadsworth says. “But many convert to being interested in a dairy practice. When they are accepted into vet school, many decide to pursue a career in dairy medicine as a result of their time here, which is gratifying beyond words.”

As the veterinary profession continues to evolve, programs like CREAM offer an essential on-ramp for students with little or no agricultural background.

“We know there isn’t necessarily a shortage of food animal veterinarians, but we do have geographic placement challenges,” Wadsworth says. “And fewer young people are growing up on farms. So, it’s vital to provide this kind of exposure to what dairy farming really looks like.”

That exposure includes full responsibility for the daily care of the UVM CREAM herd. Students handle all aspects of herd management, including milking three times per day as well as cleaning, feeding calves and administering medical treatments under guidance. Each student completes three to four chores weekly, one of which always includes the early morning milking. They’re also involved in calving, fresh cow and calf care, vaccinations and reproductive synchronization. Additionally, every student is assigned a specialty area and expected to keep the group informed on that topic throughout the program.

Wadsworth is careful to emphasize the skills students gain are universally applicable across herd sizes and management systems.

“If you understand the biology of a cow — the physiology of ketosis, reproduction and mastitis — those fundamentals apply whether you’re on a 60-cow tiestall or a 6,000-cow commercial dairy,” he says. “It may look different, but the principles are the same.”

To add to this experience, Wadsworth is currently organizing a six-farm tour for his students to further broaden their exposure to different dairy operations across northern Vermont.

“It gives them the opportunity to see firsthand how those principles scale and adapt,” he says. “The goal is to provide a strong foundation so they can walk into any herd and understand what’s happening.”

For students without previous large-animal experience, the smaller scale of the CREAM herd offers an ideal environment to build confidence and competence.

“You could argue that animal handling and husbandry are easier to learn in a 60-cow herd than a larger operation,” Wadsworth notes. “But here, they have more direct contact with the animals and more opportunities to take ownership of daily tasks. That kind of engagement really accelerates learning.”

For Wadsworth, transitioning from private practice to academia has brought a new and refreshing challenge.

“I feel privileged to be here,” he says. “Watching these students grow over the course of the program is something special.”

As the veterinary industry looks to the future, programs like CREAM are helping ensure the next generation of dairy veterinarians are equipped with knowledge, hands-on experience and respect for the work ahead.

To learn more about UVM’s CREAM Program, watch here: